Effect of Fish Density on Growth, Survival, and Food Consumption by Juvenile Walleyes in Rearing Ponds

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Abstract
We investigated the effect of density of young-of-year walleyes Stizostedion vitreum on their growth, biomass production, survival, and food consumption. We used 2-d-old larvae stocked at densities of 20, 40, and 60 fish/m3 in eight drainable outdoor ponds (unbalanced design with one additional replicate for high and low densities). Growth, food consumption, and prey density were monitored weekly during the 6-week experiment. Mean length and weight at harvest showed an inverse logarithmic relationship with initial walleye density, whereas biomass production and initial density were positively related. There was no relationship between the within-pond variability in walleye size at harvest and either stocking density, final density, or mean harvest length and weight. The rate of survival was also unrelated to either initial density or size at harvest. Our results support the contention that growth is more important than mortality in adjusting population biomass to environmental conditions. However...