Diel and seasonal distribution of perch in Lake Constance: a hydroacoustic study and in situ observations

Abstract

A near-shore belt 50 km in length was surveyed parallel to the shoreline or Lake Constancc, central Europe. with a single-beam eehosounder five times between July 1993 and February 1994. The species and age composition or fish in the survey area was investigated by gillnct ti'ihing and SCUBA-diving. In summer. the horizontal distribution of perch was patchy. Population density declined from cast to west. and highest densities occurred in one shallow bay and close to ports and jetties at steeper shores. During daytime. perch stayed in the sublittoral zone between 3 and 15 m depth and between ~ and (, m above the thermocline. Within this layer age classc, were separated spatially the relative number of young-of-the-year perch declined with depth whereas the relative number of adult perch (2+ and older) increased with depth. At dusk the fish migrated to the littoral zone, where they spent the night resting on the bottom. In winter. under almost homothermal conditions. perch of all ages were located between the 35 and 70 m depth contours. where they performed pronounced diel vertical migrations. They rested on. or close to. the bottom during daytime and ascended up to 20 m below the surface ill night. During this season. horizontal distribution of perch was much more homogeneous than in Summer ( !()!)6 ThL: l-r-hcrrc-, Socrctv <JI the Brmsh l slc-,

Respiration Rates of Eurasian Perch Perca fluviatilis and Ruffe: Lower Energy Costs in Groups

“…As is known for other fish (Shlaifer 1939;Umezawa et al 1983), the group effect in perch seemed to be induced by visual contact with conspecifics. Field data on the behavior of perch confirm that perch form shoals during twilight and daytime, but during darkness the shoals break up and fish rest on the bottom (Imbrock et al 1996). For ruffe we cannot confirm the need for visual contact for a group effect at a given activity level, because the fish were mostly active during night time.…”

Habitat use and preference of adult perch (Perca fluviatilis L.) in a deep reservoir: variations with seasons, water levels and individuals

“…This preference for complex habitats observed throughout the year for the substrate type and to a lesser extent in summer for emerging trees and tree stumps can probably be related to feeding given that they can shelter macro-invertebrates and fish (Czarnecka et al, 2014). With the beginning of autumnal mixing the perch migrated into slightly deeper waters as already described (Craig, 1977;Imbrock et al, 1996). We showed that, in the Bariousses reservoir, the most used and preferred depths shifted to [2.5, 7.5[m in autumn and winter.…”

“…Considering the advantages of the littoral zone for fish fauna (Schiemer et al, 1995;Schmieder, 2004;Lewin et al, 2014) and the importance of the habitats impacted by WLF for perch (Imbrock et al, 1996;Zamora & Moreno-Amich, 2002;Pekcan-Hekim et al, 2005;Cech et al, 2009;Muska et al, 2013), we expected some changes in the habitat preferences at different WL. As shown on some terrestrial species, variations in habitat availability can lead to changes in habitat preferences (Godvik et al, 2009;Hansen et al, 2009;Pellerin et al, 2010).…”

“…Although frequent in open waters, their dependence on the littoral zone is high (Zamora & Moreno-Amich, 2002;Jacobsen et al, 2015). At night, they rest in the littoral zone on the bottom (Imbrock et al, 1996). They are highly selective in their choice of spawning habitat, generally preferring shallow and sheltered areas with rigid and structurally complex substrates (Probst et al, 2009;Snickars et al, 2010;Čech et al, 2012a) but can spawn in deeper waters depending on the environmental conditions (Čech et al, 2012a; Čech et al, 2012b).…”

Comparison of two point abundance sampling methods to assess young roach (Rutilus rutilusL.) microhabitat in the littoral zone of lake Pareloup (France)

“…For several years, increasing interest has been taken in the study of the spatial distribution of lake fish populations (Bohl 1980, Imbrock et al 1996. In European rivers, some studies have focused on fish microhabitat by taking into account several environmental variables (Nelva et al 1979, Copp 1993.…”