Size-Dependent Overwinter Mortality of Young-of-the-Year Yellow Perch (Perca flavescens): Laboratory, In Situ Enclosure, and Field Experiments

1989 ◽  
Vol 46 (11) ◽  
pp. 1958-1968 ◽  
Author(s):  
John R. Post ◽  
David O. Evans
Keyword(s):  
Yellow Perch ◽  
Field Experiments ◽  
Perca Flavescens ◽  
Total Mortality ◽  
Small Fish ◽  
Selective Mortality ◽  
Size Dependent ◽  
Young Of The Year ◽  
Overwinter Mortality

In laboratory experiments, fed and starved young-of-the-year yellow perch (Perca flavescens) lost weight when kept under simulated overwinter temperature and photoperiod regimes, small fish losing a greater proportion of their mass than larger ones. Perch in fed and starved treatments suffered 1 and 46% mortality, respectively, mortality being higher among the smaller individuals. Winter duration was an important determinant of both total mortality and the intensity of size-selective mortality. Size-selective mortality also occurred in yellow perch from the same stock kept overwinter in an in situ lake enclosure with natural food. Fall and spring population estimates for two cohorts of young-of-the-year yellow perch from Lake St. George also indicated the occurence of size-selective overwinter mortality. We present a quantitative technique for identification of size-dependent mortality and size-dependent growth from sequential length frequency distributions. This technique allowed identification of overwinter size-selective mortality for five natural cohorts sampled in the field. Results from a stochastic simulation model, incorporating observed variability in both first year growth and winter duration suggest that overwinter starvation mortality can cause substantial variability in year-class strength that is independent of adult stock size.

Metabolic Allometry of Larval and Juvenile Yellow Perch (Perca flavescens): In Situ Estimates and Bioenergetic Models

1990 ◽  
Vol 47 (3) ◽  
pp. 554-560 ◽  
Author(s):  
John R. Post
Keyword(s):  
Food Consumption ◽  
Yellow Perch ◽  
Prey Availability ◽  
Juvenile Fish ◽  
Perca Flavescens ◽  
Growth Dynamics ◽  
Model Simulations ◽  
Consumption Rates ◽  
Young Of The Year

Measurements of in situ food consumption and growth rates of young-of-the-year (YOY) yellow perch, Perca flavescens, indicated that extrapolations of the metabolic allometry of adult perch to larval and juvenile perch were inappropriate. YOY active metabolism had the same weight dependent slope as adults but was 4.4 times adult standard respiration. Adult active respiration is typically 1–2 times standard. YOY consumption rates were also higher than predicted from adult allometry. Model simulations demonstrate that consumption and growth dynamics of larval and juvenile fish are more sensitive to variation in temperature and prey availability than are adults.

Size-Selective Mortality in Young-of-the-Year Yellow Perch (Perca flavescens): Evidence from Otolith Microstructure

1987 ◽  
Vol 44 (11) ◽  
pp. 1840-1847 ◽  
Author(s):  
John R. Post ◽  
Andrew B. Prankevicius
Keyword(s):  
Yellow Perch ◽  
Large Body ◽  
Perca Flavescens ◽  
Growing Season ◽  
Otolith Microstructure ◽  
Selective Mortality ◽  
Predator Species ◽  
Piscivorous Fish ◽  
Young Of The Year ◽  
Growing Population

Large body size and high growth rates can strongly influence the survival of larval and juvenile fish during periods of intense predation pressure. Experimental evidence suggests that piscivorous fish often feed size selectively, but direct field evidence of size-selective mortality and of the effect of rapid growth on the intensity of size-selective mortality is limited. We used the growth record from otolith microstructure to test the hypothesis that young-of-the-year yellow perch (Perca flavescens) that survived their first growing season were the larger and faster growing members of their cohort. Strong size-selective mortality was identified within the first growing season for a slowly growing population. During the same year, a faster growing population showed minimal size-selective mortality. In contrasting the two populations, differences in predator species composition confounded the growth rate size-selectivity relationship, but it was clear that size-selective predation could be intense, favouring the survival of the faster growing individuals within a population.

Size-Structured Morality in a Treespine Stickleback (Gastrosteus aculeatus) – Cutthroat Trout (Oncorhynchus clarki) Community

1990 ◽  
Vol 47 (6) ◽  
pp. 1194-1205 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. E. Reimchen
Keyword(s):  
Gasterosteus Aculeatus ◽  
Size Structure ◽  
Adult Population ◽  
Total Mortality ◽  
Cutthroat Trout ◽  
Oncorhynchus Clarki ◽  
Small Fish ◽  
Frequency Distributions ◽  
Queen Charlotte Islands ◽  
Young Of The Year

In a 112-ha bog lake on the Queen Charlotte Islands, British Columbia, small fish comprised the major element in the diet of cutthroat trout (Oncorhynchus clarki). Despite the presence of juvenile salmon and char in the lake, threespine stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus) was the most common fish in the diet (99.5%). Foraging activity appeared to be more frequent in littoral than in limnetic regions. Mark–recapture methods indicate an average population of 220 trout and 75 000 adult stickleback. Trout consumed an estimated 308 770 stickleback yearly (145 kg) of which 65% were taken during summer. Seventy-three percent of all fish consumed were young of the year and 2% were adults, the latter representing 4% of the adult population in the lake. There was a 75% reduction in total mortality between successive year classes of stickleback (0,1,2,3 +). This consumption curve, which resembles a typical survivorship curve of fish, is a function of the size-structure of the populations and includes interactions between size availability of stickleback, prey-size preferences of the trout, and length frequency distributions of trout. Total weight of stickleback consumed by trout comprised about 40% of that previously calculated for 16 species of avian piscivores in the lake.

Responses of Walleye (Stizostedion vitreum vitreum) and Yellow Perch (Perca flavescens) Populations to Removal of White Sucker (Catostomus commersoni) from a Minnesota Lake, 1966

1977 ◽  
Vol 34 (10) ◽  
pp. 1633-1642 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fritz H. Johnson
Keyword(s):  
Species Interactions ◽  
Standing Crop ◽  
Yellow Perch ◽  
Perca Flavescens ◽  
Food Competition ◽  
Community Response ◽  
Stizostedion Vitreum ◽  
Catostomus Commersoni ◽  
Young Of The Year ◽  
Fish Species Diversity

In a northeastern Minnesota lake subject only to sportfishing, removal of 85% of the estimated standing crop (34 kg/ha) of adult white suckers, Catostomus commersoni in 1966 was followed by marked changes in community structure and interrelations. During 7 yr alter the removal: catch indices for adult suckers remained far below those before the sucker removal but juvenile suckers increased about 17-fold; yellow perch, Perca flavescens, increased about 15-fold; walleye Stizostedion vitreum vitreum, standing crop increased about one-third; mayflies increased in diet of adult perch and smaller invertebrates decreased; micro-crustaceans increased in diet of young-of-the-year and juvenile perch; young-of-the-year perch increased in diet of adult walleye; walleye angling yield increased from an average of 3.0 kg/ha before the removal to an average of 4.9 kg/ha in 1970–73; the rate of exploitation of adult walleye did not change with increase in angling effort; and the increased walleye harvest consisted mostly of fish recruited to the catch during the fishing season. The average annual harvest of walleye in 1970–73 exceeded estimated potential production for all fish by 81.5% and probably cannot be sustained. Removal of white suckers from lakes with limited fish species diversity appears to benefit percid populations. Key words: Percidae, species interactions, (Stizostedion vitreum vitreum), Perca flavescens, Catostomus commersoni, harvests, community response, community ecology, food, competition

Behaviour, Energetics, and Associated Mortality of Young-of-the-Year White Perch (Morone americana) and Yellow Perch (Perca flavescens) under Simulated Winter Conditions

1991 ◽  
Vol 48 (4) ◽  
pp. 672-680 ◽  
Author(s):  
Timothy B. Johnson ◽  
David O. Evans
Keyword(s):  
Yellow Perch ◽  
White Perch ◽  
Perca Flavescens ◽  
Direct Consequence ◽  
Dry Weight ◽  
Routine Metabolic Rate ◽  
Winter Period ◽  
Small Fish ◽  
Morone Americana ◽  
Winter Conditions

After 150 d of simulated winter conditions, 71.2% of the white perch (Morone americana) had died at 2.5 °C, while only 11.1% had died at 4.0 °C. For yellow perch (Perca flavescens), 0.8% had died at 2.5 °C, while 17.7% had died at 4.0 °C. For both species, small fish died first. Multiple regression models relating overwinter mortality versus fall total length and winter duration predict 3.3 times greater mortality for white perch versus similar sized yellow perch at winter temperature regimes typical of the Great Lakes region. In laboratory tanks, white perch remained active throughout the winter period, while yellow perch sought cover and rested on or near the bottom of the experimental tanks. As a direct consequence, yellow perch had a lower routine metabolic rate and consumed body energy more gradually than white perch. During their inactive wintering period at 4.0 °C, yellow perch consumed 25.8% less oxygen than white perch. Actual measurements of dry weight loss indicated that yellow perch in the experimental tanks at 2.5 °C consumed 24.6% less dry weight than similar sized white perch. These differences in overwinter behaviour, metabolism, and survival appear to be adequate to account for observed differences in survival of these species in the wild.

Disruption of the hypothalamo-pituitary-interrenal axis in 1+ yellow perch (Perca flavescens) chronically exposed to metals in the environment

2005 ◽  
Vol 62 (5) ◽  
pp. 982-990 ◽  
Author(s):  
A Gravel ◽  
P GC Campbell ◽  
A Hontela
Keyword(s):  
Yellow Perch ◽  
Acute Stress ◽  
Stress Test ◽  
Perca Flavescens ◽  
Whole Body ◽  
Hepatosomatic Index ◽  
Physiological Status ◽  
Young Of The Year ◽  
First Time ◽  
Cu And Zn

Although it has been reported that adult yellow perch (Perca flavescens) chronically exposed to metals in the environment exhibit endocrine impairment characterized by blunted cortisol secretion, little is known about the vulnerability of early life stages. Young-of-the-year (YOY) and 1+ yellow perch were captured, subjected to a standardized stress test or adrenocorticotropic-hormone stimulation in lakes situated along a contamination gradient of Cd, Cu, and Zn in the mining region of Abitibi, Quebec. For the first time, whole-body cortisol concentrations were measured. The 1+ fish with elevated whole-body Cd, Cu, and Zn concentrations had an impaired capacity to respond to an acute stress challenge. Although YOY perch had similar whole-body Cd concentrations to 1+ perch, no effects on physiological status were detected in relation to body burdens of metals. Metal contamination did not affect whole-body thyroid-hormone concentrations, condition factor, or hepatosomatic index in 1+ or YOY perch. These results indicate that effects of Cd, Cu, and Zn on the functional integrity of the hypothalamo-pituitary-interrenal axis in yellow perch are detectable after only 1 year of environmental exposure.

Cyclic dynamics of a yellow perch (Perca flavescens) population in an oligotrophic lake: evidence for the role of intraspecific interactions

1999 ◽  
Vol 56 (9) ◽  
pp. 1534-1542 ◽  
Author(s):  
Beth L Sanderson ◽  
Thomas R Hrabik ◽  
John J Magnuson ◽  
David M Post
Keyword(s):  
Yellow Perch ◽  
Perca Flavescens ◽  
Age Classes ◽  
Intraspecific Interactions ◽  
Important Challenge ◽  
Cyclic Dynamics ◽  
Young Of The Year ◽  
Mature Fish

Understanding the extent to which repeated oscillations in fish populations are driven by external factors or internal processes within the population is an important challenge. We document cyclic dynamics in a population of yellow perch (Perca flavescens) in oligotrophic Crystal Lake. Since 1981, we have observed three cases of cohort dominance in which two age-classes dominated the population for roughly 5 years. Young-of-the-year (YOY) perch were caught in 1981-1982, 1986-1987, and 1990-1991, whereas few to no YOY were caught during the midyears. The presence of YOY was negatively related to juvenile perch abundance and positively related to adult perch abundance. Mechanisms that may be responsible for these patterns include cannibalism of YOY by either juveniles or adults, potential for reproduction by adults, and competition between YOY and juveniles. YOY were abundant primarily in years when reproductively mature fish were in the lake, suggesting that the repeated oscillations are driven predominantly by pulses of abundant, reproductive, adult perch. As these young perch grow to juveniles, they exclude the possibility of survival by successive cohorts through cannibalistic and competitive interactions. This exclusion occurs until they themselves become reproductively mature and the cycle then repeats. Ultimately, long-term patterns in Crystal Lake suggest that cyclic dynamics are generated by intraspecific interactions.

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