Evidence of Demic Structure for a Population of Yellow Perch (Perca flavescens)

1989 ◽  
Vol 46 (2) ◽  
pp. 184-190 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. K. Aalto ◽  
G. E. (Buck) Newsome
Keyword(s):  
Yellow Perch ◽  
Perca Flavescens ◽  
Extended Period ◽  
Behavior Patterns ◽  
Egg Mass ◽  
Spawning Behavior ◽  
Study Lake ◽  
Additional Support ◽  
And Behavior ◽  
Number Of Authors

A number of authors suggest that yellow perch (Perca flavescens and P. fluviatilis) populations are composed of subpopulations which persist over various periods of time. If the period of time is sufficiently long, then subpopulations may be demes or stocks of perch. These observations are based on the results of tagging studies, comparative growth studies, and behavior patterns of yellow perch. In this paper, evidence is presented which provides additional support for demic structure of yellow perch populations. This evidence consists of yearly egg-mass counts over an extended period of time (1978–87) at a number of distinct sites in a study lake and trapping data by sex, age, and date during one spawning season (1984) at a number of distinct sites in the same lake. Several models concerning perch spawning behavior are introduced to provide a framework for analyzing the data. Analysis of the data not only provides support for demic models of perch population structure, but also provides an estimate of the separation of the demes (0.4–0.5 km).

Winds and the Demic Structure of a Population of Yellow Perch (Perca flavescens)

1993 ◽  
Vol 50 (3) ◽  
pp. 496-501 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. K. Aalto ◽  
G. E. Newsome
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Effects ◽  
Yellow Perch ◽  
Census Data ◽  
Perca Flavescens ◽  
Embryonic Stage ◽  
Egg Mass ◽  
Instantaneous Rate ◽  
Study Lake ◽  
The Relationship

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.

Additional Evidence Supporting Demic Behaviour of a Yellow Perch (Perca flavescens) Population

1990 ◽  
Vol 47 (10) ◽  
pp. 1959-1962 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. K. Aalto ◽  
G. E. (Buck) Newsome
Keyword(s):  
Yellow Perch ◽  
Perca Flavescens ◽  
Egg Masses ◽  
Spawning Site ◽  
Spawning Behaviour ◽  
Additional Support

To test the hypothesis that yellow perch (Perca flavescens) return to their natal location to spawn, the following experimental manipulations were performed. During the years 1978 through 1989, the egg-masses deposited by females along isobathic transects at a number of sites in Lochaber Lake were counted. During the years 1984 through 1987, egg-masses were removed from one of the sites in the lake during the spawning seasons. There was a statistically significant reduction in the proportion of egg-masses deposited within the boundaries of the site from which the egg-masses were removed. The analysis strongly suggests that the model of perch spawning behaviour which assumes that any perch selects a spawning site independently of its natal site may be rejected. This result provides additional support for the hypothesis that yellow perch exhibit demic behaviour.

Visual Observation of Fish Beneath the Ice in a Winterkill Lake

1970 ◽  
Vol 27 (6) ◽  
pp. 1059-1068 ◽  
Author(s):  
John J. Magnuson ◽  
Duane J. Karlen
Keyword(s):  
Yellow Perch ◽  
Lepomis Macrochirus ◽  
Perca Flavescens ◽  
Northern Pike ◽  
Visual Observation ◽  
Fish Behavior ◽  
The Other ◽  
Locomotory Activity ◽  
Free Carbon Dioxide ◽  
And Behavior

A device is described to directly observe fish behavior beneath the ice of a shallow lake. The viewing device, a 1.9-m tall plexiglass tube (14.0 cm inside diameter) sealed at the bottom, worked on the principle of a periscope. It was frozen into place in the center of a net enclosure. A man in a darkened hut lowered a mirror into the tube to observe the fish in the enclosure.Vertical distributions and behavior of 5 adult northern pike (Esox lucius), 6 yellow perch (Perca flavescens), and 13 bluegill (Lepomis macrochirus) were compared with the levels of dissolved oxygen, free carbon dioxide, hydrogen sulfide, and water temperature. Observations in Mystery Lake, Wisconsin, were from December 29, 1968, through January 30, 1969, during a period when environmental conditions worsened beneath the ice and resulted in a winterkill.Yellow perch were the most active, northern pike the least. Bluegill remained farther beneath the ice than did the other two species. Northern pike took up residence in domes that they formed in the undersurface of the ice. Northern pike and yellow perch frequently sounded into the anoxic layers.We conclude that differences in fish behavior were significant in prolonging survival. A combination of little locomotory activity and a position immediately beneath the ice apparently favored the longer survival of northern pike over bluegill and yellow perch.

An Egg-Mass Census Method for Tracking Fluctuations in Yellow Perch (Perca flavescens) Populations

1987 ◽  
Vol 44 (6) ◽  
pp. 1221-1232 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. E. (Buck) Newsome ◽  
S. K. Aalto
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Factors ◽  
Physical Environment ◽  
Yellow Perch ◽  
Perca Flavescens ◽  
Population Estimates ◽  
Egg Mass ◽  
Juvenile Survival ◽  
Confidence Limits ◽  
Statistical Procedures ◽  
Internal Seiches

Extreme annual fluctuations among yellow perch (Perca flavescens) populations are common and have been related to changes in the physical environment during early stages of the development of a year-class. However, critical investigations of these relationships are often hampered by the lack of accurate techniques for estimating abundance. In this paper an egg-mass census technique is described, and statistical procedures which provide population estimates with confidence limits are given. Also discussed are results of preliminary investigations of environmental factors which may have a dramatic affect on the year-class strengths of perch. Winds play an important role in determining recruitment rates. Wind-generated internal seiches may result in thermal shocking of perch embryos which subsequently affects juvenile survival.

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

Zebra mussel (Dreissena polymorpha) effects on sediment, other zoobenthos, and the diet and growth of adult yellow perch (Perca flavescens) in pond enclosures

1997 ◽  
Vol 54 (8) ◽  
pp. 1903-1915 ◽  
Author(s):  
S A Thayer ◽  
R C Haas ◽  
R D Hunter ◽  
R H Kushler
Keyword(s):  
Zebra Mussel ◽  
Dreissena Polymorpha ◽  
Yellow Perch ◽  
Perca Flavescens ◽  
Structural Heterogeneity ◽  
Zebra Mussels ◽  
Zooplankton Density ◽  
Growth Differences ◽  
Percent Nitrogen ◽  
Induced Changes

Zebra mussels (Dreissena polymorpha) in enclosures located in an experimental pond adjacent to Lake St. Clair, Michigan, increased sedimentation rate but had relatively minor effects on percent organic matter and percent nitrogen content of sediment. In contrast, sediment from Lake St. Clair adjacent to zebra mussels was significantly higher in carbon than that 0.5 m away. Zebra mussels increase the nutritional value of surficial sediment and provide greater structural heterogeneity, which is probably more important in causing change among zoobenthos. Zoobenthos and yellow perch (Perca flavescens) diet were dominated by dipteran larvae and leeches. Zoobenthos was significantly different between enclosures with and without zebra mussels. Treatments with zebra mussels had significantly more oligochaetes and tended to have more crustaceans (isopods and amphipods). In June, yellow perch without zebra mussels consumed significantly more zooplankton, and those with mussels had more crustaceans in their diet. Zooplankton density was greater in treatments without zebra mussels. Yellow perch with zebra mussels grew significantly more than those without mussels. Zebra mussels in the enclosures neither reproduced nor were eaten by yellow perch; hence. the observed growth differences were due to indirect effects involving zebra mussel induced changes in benthic structure and biota.

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