Diel Activity and Vertical Distribution of Yellow Perch (Perca flavescens) Under the Ice

1966 ◽  
Vol 23 (4) ◽  
pp. 499-509 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gary L. Hergenrader ◽  
Arthur D. Hasler
Keyword(s):  
Vertical Distribution ◽  
Activity Pattern ◽  
Yellow Perch ◽  
Depth Distribution ◽  
Perca Flavescens ◽  
Diel Activity ◽  
Limited Extent ◽  
Diel Pattern ◽  
Lake Mendota ◽  
Individual Fish

Use of echo sounders showed that, under the ice in Lake Mendota, yellow perch (Perca flavescens Mitchill) have a bimodal diel pattern of activity. The first peak of activity, during midmorning, was much higher than the second, in midafternoon. Schools of fish in mid water made up the bulk of the fish traces per hour although individual fish were also commonly recorded. At night, when activity was much reduced, principally single fish were observed. The fish swam much more slowly at night than during the day.The activity pattern generally agreed with those reported by investigators for other lakes in that the perch were active during the day and relatively inactive at night.No well-defined change in depth distribution was noted. There was a tendency for the fish to move away from the bottom to a limited extent at night but no marked movement was recorded. The majority of fish were most often recorded at a depth of 30–60 ft (9–18 m), the main concentrations being in areas of the lake more than 50 ft (15 m) deep.

Predicting the Vertical Distribution of Fish Populations: Analysis of Cisco, Coregonus artedii, and Yellow Perch, Perca flavescens

1985 ◽  
Vol 42 (6) ◽  
pp. 1178-1188 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lars G. Rudstam ◽  
John J. Magnuson
Keyword(s):  
Vertical Distribution ◽  
Yellow Perch ◽  
Factor Model ◽  
Perca Flavescens ◽  
Fish Population ◽  
Lake Mendota ◽  
Vertical Distributions ◽  
Preferred Temperatures ◽  
Coregonus Artedii ◽  
The Vertical Distribution

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.

The emergence of cercariae of Trichobilharzia ocellata and its relationship to the activity of its snail host Lymnaea stagnalis

1976 ◽  
Vol 54 (9) ◽  
pp. 1481-1487 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. A. Anderson ◽  
J. W. Nowosielski ◽  
N. A. Croll
Keyword(s):  
Activity Pattern ◽  
Lymnaea Stagnalis ◽  
Close Association ◽  
Snail Host ◽  
Diel Activity ◽  
Locomotory Activity ◽  
Diel Pattern ◽  
Dark Light ◽  
Diel Activity Pattern ◽  
Trichobilharzia Ocellata

The emergence pattern of cercariae of Trichobilharzia ocellata from Lymnaea stagnalis was examined at 2-h intervals from infected snails acclimatized to 12 h light – 12 h dark periods. A marked diel pattern of emergence was found during the periods of illumination; this was reversed when the light–dark regime was reversed.A method for the continuous recording of the locomotory activity of L. stagnalis is described. Snails acclimatized to either normal or reversed dark–light regimes showed a consistent diel pattern of activity during illumination. Peak activity occurred in the first few hours of illumination.It is proposed that the diel activity pattern results from an internal rhythm in which the snail becomes entrained to the lighting regime. The close association between the diel activity pattern of the snail and the emergence of T. ocellata indicates that host movement stimulates cercarial emergence. Light is thought to influence the cercariae directly and indirectly through the snail.

Twilight Activities of Yellow Perch, Perca flavescens

1979 ◽  
Vol 36 (2) ◽  
pp. 173-179 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gene S. Helfman
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
Key Words ◽  
Behavioral Ecology ◽  
Yellow Perch ◽  
Activity Patterns ◽  
Perca Flavescens ◽  
Diel Activity ◽  
Light Levels ◽  
Diel Activity Patterns ◽  
Lower Light

Underwater observations were made on the diel activity patterns of yellow perch (Perca flavescens) in Cazenovia Lake, Madison County, New York (42°56′N, 75°52′W). Perch underwent a characteristic progression of activities during dusk at relatively predictable light levels and times. Patterns within the progression included increased swimming, last feed, group breakup, slowdown, and final stop. Activity at sunrise was the reverse of the sunset sequence except that some activities occurred at lower light levels than did the analagous activities in the evening. Differences exist in the twilight activity patterns of perch in different lakes; within a lake, both ontogenetic and subpopulation differences are also observed. These differences may be responses to ecological conditions, such as relative predation levels, or they may reflect the extreme plasticity of the species. Key words: behavioral ecology, changeover, diel, diurnal, fish, light, nocturnal, ontogeny, plasticity, temperate lake

Influence of Changing Seasons on Schooling Behavior of Yellow Perch

1968 ◽  
Vol 25 (4) ◽  
pp. 711-716 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gary L. Hergenrader ◽  
Arthur D. Hasler
Keyword(s):  
School Size ◽  
Yellow Perch ◽  
Light Transmission ◽  
Perca Flavescens ◽  
Lake Mendota ◽  
Schooling Behavior ◽  
Bottom Fish ◽  
The Mean ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
The Individual

Analysis of echo-sounder and sonar records made on Lake Mendota during summer and winter indicated that the schooling behavior of yellow perch, Perca flavescens (Mitchill), changed markedly between the two seasons. The distance separating individuals in schools during summer was less than 1.5–2.0 ft, consequently producing dense traces on the recorder charts which showed no definition of individuals. During winter, however, the fish-to-fish distances often were greater than 1.5–2.0 ft, producing many traces showing the individual fishes in a school. The mean distance between the top and bottom fish in a school during winter was 22.1 ft (6.7 m); in summer only 8.5 ft (2.5 m). High correlations existed between light transmission of the water and school size (r =.77) and between temperature and school size (r = −.89). The possible adaptive significance of this seasonal change in behavior is discussed.

Vertical and Horizontal Distributions of Coho Salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch), Yellow Perch (Perca flavescens), and Cisco (Coregonus artedii) in Pallette Lake, Wisconsin

1976 ◽  
Vol 33 (12) ◽  
pp. 2710-2715 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sandy Engel ◽  
John J. Magnuson
Keyword(s):  
Vertical Distribution ◽  
Yellow Perch ◽  
Coho Salmon ◽  
Perca Flavescens ◽  
Oncorhynchus Kisutch ◽  
Vertical Separation ◽  
Sunset Yellow ◽  
Coregonus Artedii ◽  
The Vertical Distribution

Coho salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch), stocked in Pallette Lake, Wisconsin, remained inshore in April and early May, moved offshore in late May and June, and returned to shore in October. From June to September the vertical distribution of offshore coho salmon overlapped that of yellow perch (Perca flavescens) and cisco (Coregonus artedii). Yellow perch were gillnetted mainly in epilimnetic water of 16–22 C; coho salmon and cisco were mostly caught in metalimnetic water of 12–17 and 8–12 C, respectively. Vertical separation broke down during other months of the year.From June to September diel, horizontal movements were found for yellow perch within the epilimnion and for cisco within the metalimnion. Yellow perch moved offshore around sunrise and onshore around sunset; cisco moved toward shore around sunrise and away from shore around sunset. Yellow perch were mainly active during the day and cisco at night. Perch and Cisco were, therefore, largely temporally and spatially segregated from each other but not from coho salmon.

Gape Limitation and Prey Selection in Larval Yellow Perch (Perca flavescens), Freshwater Drum (Aplodinotus grunniens), and Black Crappie (Pomoxis nigromaculatus)

1991 ◽  
Vol 48 (10) ◽  
pp. 1919-1925 ◽  
Author(s):  
Denise M. Schael ◽  
Lars G. Rudstam ◽  
John R. Post
Keyword(s):  
Yellow Perch ◽  
Prey Selection ◽  
Perca Flavescens ◽  
Fish Length ◽  
Prey Selectivity ◽  
Lake Mendota ◽  
Pomoxis Nigromaculatus ◽  
Aplodinotus Grunniens ◽  
Gape Size ◽  
Freshwater Drum

We compared prey selection of larval yellow perch (Perca flavescens), freshwater drum (Aplodinotus grunniens), and black crappie (Pomoxis nigromaculatus) in Lake Mendota, Wisconsin. All three species had a diet dominated by copepods and selected progressively larger prey as fish length increased. For a given fish length, freshwater drum selected larger prey and black crappie selected smaller prey than yellow perch. These differences in prey selectivity were partly explainable from differences in gape to length relationships. Freshwater drum did have the largest gape for a given length of the three species, but gape size for black crappie and yellow perch were similar. Gape size predicted 67% of the variability in mean prey size ingested by yellow perch but only 15% for freshwater drum and 8% for black crappie. Although gape size did predict the upper limit of ingestible prey sizes and explained some of the differences in prey selectivity among the three species, both the degree to which the different fishes can ingest prey close to their gape limit and the degree to which gape predicted mean size of ingested prey varied among the three fish species.

A Modified Freeze-Core Technique to Quantify the Depth Distribution of Fauna in Stony Streambeds

1983 ◽  
Vol 40 (5) ◽  
pp. 637-643 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. W. Pugsley ◽  
H. B. N. Hynes
Keyword(s):  
Vertical Distribution ◽  
Liquid Nitrogen ◽  
Benthic Invertebrates ◽  
Depth Distribution ◽  
Sampling Methods ◽  
Freezing Front ◽  
Southern Ontario ◽  
Freeze Core ◽  
Order Of Magnitude ◽  
The Vertical Distribution

A freeze-coring device using liquid nitrogen is described, which enables one person to take a columnar core, extending from the surface to at least 50 cm below a stony streambed. An experiment to validate the technique showed that animals did not flee from the advance of the freezing-front. Using frozen streambed cores, the vertical distribution of benthic invertebrates of two streams in southern Ontario was investigated. In contrast to previous estimates,~70% of the fauna was found in the top 10 cm of the streambed, and invertebrate densities were often lower by an order of magnitude. These differences are attributed to problems of quantifying previous sampling methods.

Survival to hatching of fishes in sulfate-saline waters, Devils Lake, North Dakota

1995 ◽  
Vol 52 (3) ◽  
pp. 464-469 ◽  
Author(s):  
Todd M. Koel ◽  
John J. Peterka
Keyword(s):  
North Dakota ◽  
Sodium Sulfate ◽  
Yellow Perch ◽  
Hatching Success ◽  
Perca Flavescens ◽  
White Sucker ◽  
Catostomus Commersoni ◽  
Devils Lake ◽  
Common Carp Cyprinus Carpio ◽  
Species Survival

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%.

Metabolic Stores of Yellow Perch (Perca flavescens): Comparison of Populations from an Acidic, Dystrophic Lake and Circumneutral, Mesotrophic Lakes

1992 ◽  
Vol 49 (12) ◽  
pp. 2474-2482 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jay A. Nelson ◽  
John J. Magnuson
Keyword(s):  
Yellow Perch ◽  
Egg Production ◽  
Glycogen Content ◽  
Physiological State ◽  
Perca Flavescens ◽  
Population Level ◽  
Seasonal Effects ◽  
Life History Strategies ◽  
Dystrophic Lake ◽  
Lipid Contents

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.

Walleye (Stizostedion vitreum vitreum) and Yellow Perch (Perca flavescens) Populations and Fisheries of the Red Lakes, Minnesota, 1930–75

1977 ◽  
Vol 34 (10) ◽  
pp. 1774-1783 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lloyd L. Smith Jr.
Keyword(s):  
Growth Rate ◽  
Yellow Perch ◽  
Climatic Factors ◽  
Perca Flavescens ◽  
Growing Season ◽  
Commercial Fishery ◽  
Class Strength ◽  
Parent Stock ◽  
Catch Statistics

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

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document