Growth and Survival of Larval Fishes: Roles of Competition and Zooplankton Abundance
- 1 September 1994
- journal article
- Published by Oxford University Press (OUP) in Transactions of the American Fisheries Society
- Vol. 123 (5) , 703-717
- https://doi.org/10.1577/1548-8659(1994)123<0703:gasolf>2.3.co;2
Abstract
-Interactions among larval gizzard shad Dorosoma cepedianum, bluegills Lepomis macrochirus, and their zooplankton prey were examined in a controlled mesocosm experiment and by field sampling. In the mesocosm experiment, gizzard shad growth and survival were negatively correlated with gizzard shad density and positively correlated with macrozooplankton prey. Bluegill growth was positively correlated with prey availability, but survival was uniformly high despite differences in zooplankton abundance and fish density. Macrozooplankton and copepod biomasses were negatively correlated with fish density. In Lake Shelbyville, co-occurrence of larval gizzard shad and bluegills in the limnetic zone was limited to a 3-week period, and the period of greatest larval gizzard shad abundance preceded the appearance of bluegills. Zooplankton abundance declined greatly after the peak in larval gizzard shad abundance and remained low when bluegills were present. Growth rates of gizzard shad were highest early and ...Keywords
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