Behavioral thermoregulation and locomotor activity of Perca flavescens

1979 ◽  
Vol 57 (11) ◽  
pp. 2239-2242 ◽  
Author(s):  
William Wallace Reynolds ◽  
Martha Elizabeth Casterlin

Ten yearling yellow perch (Perca flavescens) were tested individually for 3-day periods in electronic shuttleboxes to determine their diel patterns of behavioral thermoregulation and of locomotor activity relative to a natural April photoperiod, and to determine the relationship between preferred temperatures and activity. The perch exhibited a diel rhythm of preferred temperature, with a predawn minimum of 16.7 °C and a dusk maximum of 23.8 °C. The 24-h mean was 20.2 °C; the diurnal mean was 21.5 °C and the nocturnal mean was 18.5 °C. Locomotor activity (quantified as mean photocell-monitored light-beam interruptions per hour) was crepuscular, with a major peak (25 units/h) at dusk, and a smaller peak (14.4 units/h) at dawn. Nocturnal activity was slightly greater (5.3 units/h) than diurnal activity (4.4 units/h). Locomotor activity relative to temperature exhibited a local minimum (0.4–6.2 units/h) at 22.2 °C.

1970 ◽  
Vol 30 (1-8) ◽  
pp. 69-165
Author(s):  
Homer Buck ◽  
Charles F. Thoits

This report is based on several years of intensive studies of the production and related population dynamics of six kinds of warmwater fishes maintained as single species in 1-acre ponds. Species involved included the largemouth bass, Micropteriis salmoides (Lacepede); smallmouth bass, M. dolomieiii Lacepede; bluegill, Lepomis macrochiriis Rafinesque; yellow perch, Perca flavescens (Mitchill); brown bullhead, Ictahiriis uebulosus (LeSueur); and the white crappie, Pomoxis annularis Rafinesque. Most production data published for these species have originated primarily from studies involving complex, multispecies populations. The principal aims of this investigation were to 1 ) increase our knowledge of the carrying capacities of ponds for warmwater fishes, 2) consider the relationship of carrying capacity to standing crop and to rate of production, and 3) measure the influence of controlled population increases and decreases on fish production.


1985 ◽  
Vol 42 (6) ◽  
pp. 1178-1188 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lars G. Rudstam ◽  
John J. Magnuson

We develop a model based on fish behavior in temperature and oxygen gradients that yields quantitative predictions of the vertical distribution of a fish population throughout the water column. The model was tested against observed vertical distributions of cisco, Coregonus artedii, and yellow perch, Perca flavescens, in 1981 and 1982 from five Wisconsin lakes. In some cases, the model seemed adequate for cisco, but in most cases, they occupied a temperature lower than their final preferendum. Occupation of lower temperature is consistent with a response to less than ad libitum food rations expected in these oligotrophy to mesotrophic lakes. In Lake Mendota, which is eutrophic with an anaerobic hypolimnion, cisco occupied temperatures higher than predicted by the model. For perch distributions, avoidance of high light intensities appears important. We did not observe effects of interspecific segregation between cisco and perch in their vertical distributions beyond that expected from differences in their preferred temperatures. Deviations of actual distributions from predictions of our relatively simplistic two-factor model can be used to help identify and evaluate other important physical and biotic factors influencing vertical distributions.


2005 ◽  
Vol 62 (12) ◽  
pp. 2706-2715 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrea Bertolo ◽  
Pierre Magnan

We used data from a survey of 36 headwater lakes of the Canadian Shield to investigate the relationship between piscivory and growth, abundance, and longevity of white sucker (Catostomus commersoni) and yellow perch (Perca flavescens). The occurrence of northern pike (Esox lucius) and walleye (Sander vitreus) explained variations in the abundance of both white sucker and yellow perch, suggesting strong predation-induced mortality. The longevity of both species tended to be negatively related to increased piscivory. White sucker grew better and had a better condition in lakes with piscivores. Yellow perch showed only small among-lake differences in growth and condition. The superior competitive ability of white sucker over yellow perch could explain why yellow perch did not show improved growth or longevity where population densities were low in lakes with piscivores and white sucker. Furthermore, yellow perch growth was inversely related to the biomass of piscivorous fish in their first year of life. Stomach content data suggest that small yellow perch, which rely on zooplankton, might restrict their use of pelagic resources to reduce their predation risk by piscivores, thus reducing their growth. Our results show that the effects of piscivores can be species-specific and dependent on community structure.


1982 ◽  
Vol 60 (5) ◽  
pp. 926-928 ◽  
Author(s):  
William W. Reynolds ◽  
Martha E. Casterlin ◽  
Richard E. Spieler

Exposure to thyroxine in the ambient water significantly lowered the preferred temperatures of two fish species. Acute exposure to thyroxine at a concentration of 20 μg/L of water lowered the preferred temperature by approximately 2 °C, while chronic exposure to the same concentration for 14 days prior to testing lowered the preferred temperature by as much as 10 °C. Chronic exposure for 14 days to thiourea (0.33 g/L), a thyroxine antagonist, raised the preferred temperature by 2.6 °C. These results suggest a role of thyroid hormones in thermoregulatory behavior of ectothermic vertebrates.


1958 ◽  
Vol 15 (4) ◽  
pp. 607-624 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. G. Ferguson

Laboratory studies of preferred temperature with yellow perch (Perca flavescens) are compared with results from 21 other species. These show that temperature, if acting alone, can determine the distribution of fish in laboratory apparatus. Factors such as light, conditioned responses related to feeding routines, and social behaviour can interfere with the expression of the response to temperature. Subdued lighting conditions were necessary in the experiments with Oncorhynchus, Salvelinus and Coregonus, whereas full daylight was required in experiments with Perca flavescens.The level of thermal acclimation influences the range of temperature preferred. In general the preferred temperature is considerably higher than the acclimation temperature at low thermal acclimations, but this difference decreases up to the final preferendum, where both coincide. The final preferendum and the relation between acclimation and preferred temperature is characteristic for the species. The shape of the resulting curve may have some value in interpreting observations of fish mortalities and distribution in nature. The final preferendum of the yellow perch from the present work was 24.2 °C., from other work using older fish it was 21.0 °C.Summer field observations of yellow perch in Lake Nipissing, Costello Lake and Opeongo Lake in Ontario, showed average thermal distribution of 19.7 °C., 21.0 °C. and 21.2 °C. respectively. This agrees well with 20.8 °C. observed for four Wisconsin lakes. Oxygen depletion reported for Tennessee Valley reservoirs, distribution of primary prey species of lake trout in New York waters, and other factors, have been shown to modify the thermal distribution in nature. Differential sex response to temperature may be important in the perch. Field observations of thermal distributions for other species are also presented.A comparison of the laboratory and field data shows good agreement with fish having colder final preferenda: Salvelinus fontinalis, Salvelinus namaycush, Salvelinus hybrid and Coregonus clupeaformis. Fish with warmer final preferenda, such as Micropterus salmoides, Micropterus dolomieu and Lota lota lacustris, showed higher temperatures in the laboratory than was shown by field observations. Young Perca flavescens showed similar results, but experiments with older perch showed excellent agreement between laboratory results and held observations. The lack of agreement between laboratory results and field observations is attributed to age differences; laboratory experiments being performed with young fish and held observations being made on older fish.


2021 ◽  
Vol 224 (6) ◽  
pp. jeb242199
Author(s):  
Dylan J. Padilla Perez ◽  
Jose E. de Carvalho ◽  
Carlos A. Navas

ABSTRACT Theoretical models predict that lizards adjust their body temperature through behavioral thermoregulation as a function of food availability. However, behavioral thermoregulation is also governed by interactions among physiological and ecological factors other than food availability, such as hydration state, and sometimes it can even conflict with the locomotor activity of animals. Here, we aimed to investigate the role of food intake and hydration state on behavioral thermoregulation and voluntary locomotor activity in the lizard Tropidurus catalanensis. We hypothesized that food intake can influence behavioral thermoregulation via an interaction with hydration state. We also hypothesized that lizards should endeavor to spend as little time as possible to reach their preferred body temperature to defend other physiological and/or ecological functions. We collected lizards in the field and brought them to the laboratory to measure the preferred temperature selected in a thermal gradient and the total distance traveled by them in fed and unfed conditions and with variable hydration state. Our results showed that food consumption was the most important predictor of preferred temperature. In contrast, either the hydration state alone or its interaction with food consumption did not have important effects on the lizards’ thermal preference. Also, we found that the total distance traveled by lizards was not affected by food intake and was barely affected by the hydration state. We provide an experimental approach and a robust analysis of the factors that influence behavioral thermoregulation and locomotor activity in a tropical lizard.


1993 ◽  
Vol 50 (3) ◽  
pp. 496-501 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. K. Aalto ◽  
G. E. Newsome

Variations in year-class strengths of populations of fish are often attributed to environmental effects such as wind or temperature. Previously, we have presented evidence showing that the yellow perch (Perca flavescens) in a lake are composed of demes or subpopulations that vary independently. Here, we explore the relationship between winds from different directions and the independent variations of the demes of yellow perch in the study lake. We present a model that includes an instantaneous rate of mortality due to winds during the embryonic stage of yellow perch. The variables used to explain the observed egg-mass counts and thus the variations in the size of the demes are lagged egg-mass counts and winds, each of which varies yearly. Using wind and egg-mass census data, we were able to find statistically significant models that explain much of the variation (52–61%) in the independently varying demes (four of six investigated) of yellow perch in our study lake. We also present data that show that water temperatures vary in different ways at different sites in the same year, and in different ways at the same site in different years.


1995 ◽  
Vol 52 (3) ◽  
pp. 464-469 ◽  
Author(s):  
Todd M. Koel ◽  
John J. Peterka

Laboratory-based bioassays were conducted to determine concentrations of sodium-sulfate type salinities that limit the hatching success of several fish species. Survival to hatching (SH) was significantly lower (P < 0.05) in sodium-sulfate type waters from Devils Lake, North Dakota, of ≥ 2400 mg/L total dissolved solids (TDS) than in fresh water of 200 mg/L. In waters of 200, 1150, 2400, 4250, and 6350 mg/L TDS, walleye (Stizostedion vitreum) SH was 41, 38, 7, 1, and 0%; northern pike (Esox lucius) SH was 92, 68, 33, 2, and 0%; yellow perch (Perca flavescens) SH was 88, 70, 73, 0, and 0%; white sucker (Catostomus commersoni) SH was 87, 95, 66, 0, and 0%; common carp (Cyprinus carpio) SH was 71, 69, 49, 63, and 25%.


1992 ◽  
Vol 49 (12) ◽  
pp. 2474-2482 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jay A. Nelson ◽  
John J. Magnuson

Little is known about the animals that occupy naturally acidic habitats. To better understand the physiological state of animals from temperate, naturally acidic systems, we compared metabolite stores and meristics of two yellow perch (Perca flavescens) populations in northern Wisconsin. One population originated from a naturally acidic, dystrophic lake (Acid-Lake-Perch, ALP) and had previously been shown to have enhanced tolerance to low pH. The second population came from two nearby interconnected circumneutral, mesotrophic lakes (Neutral-Lake-Perch, NLP). Perch were collected throughout the year to account for seasonal effects and to discern whether patterns of metabolite utilization differed between populations. ALP had smaller livers containing less glycogen and greater muscle glycogen content than NLP. The ALP also had significantly greater liver and visceral lipid contents, and females from this population committed a greater fraction of their body mass to egg production. We interpret these results as indicative of physiological divergence at the population level in yellow perch. These results are discussed as possible products of H+ -driven changes in metabolism and as possible products of different life history strategies between populations. Our results also show that perch living in acidic, dystrophic Wharton Lake are not acid stressed.


1977 ◽  
Vol 34 (10) ◽  
pp. 1774-1783 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lloyd L. Smith Jr.

In an investigation of the commercial fishery of Red Lakes, Minnesota, for the 46-yr period 1930–75, catch statistics were analyzed, and the dynamics of the perch and walleye populations were examined. Mean annual yields of walleye for two statistical periods, 1930–53 and 1954–75, were 309,900 and 245,100 kg, respectively for walleyes, and 96,400 and 109,500 kg for perch. Annual abundance (CPE based on average catches per day per 5-net units of gill nets) varied from 3.8 to 64.6 kg for walleye, and from 2.5 to 34.4 kg for perch. Causes of fluctuations in harvestable stock were directly related to strength of year-classes and to growth rate during the season of capture. Year-class strength was not related to the abundance of parent stock or of potential predators. The respective strengths of year-classes of perch and walleye in the same year were positively correlated (r = 0.859, P < 0.01), and are directly related to climatic factors. Growth rate of walleye in different calendar years varied from +30.7 to −42.2% of mean growth, and that of perch from +13.4 to −8.6% (1941–56). Growing season began in mid-June and was almost over by September 1. Walleye yield could be enhanced by starting harvest July 1 instead of early June. Perch yield could be improved by harvesting small perch. Key words: Percidae, Perca, population dynamics, Stizostedion, long-term yield


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