Relationship between water transparency and walleye (Sander vitreus) muscle glycolytic potential in northwestern Ontario lakes
Piscivorous predators at the apex of aquatic food webs are thought to exhibit foraging behaviours that depend on environmental conditions. Walleye (Sander vitreus), for example, is a freshwater predator that is most active under low light conditions. This study examined walleye resource use and swimming activity across lakes located in northwestern Ontario representing a gradient of water transparency. Muscle glycolytic potential, an index of swimming activity, was estimated by the activity of the enzyme lactate dehydrogenase (LDH). We show that walleye white muscle LDH activity increased with lake water transparency, but that this relationship is not determined by the use of nearshore resources, estimated from δ13C stable isotope signatures, or by prey abundance. On the other hand, walleye muscle LDH activity decreased with increasing prey size, and prey size was larger in lakes of low water transparency. These results support a positive relationship between water transparency and swimming activity in walleye, with prey size as an important factor contributing to this effect.