Relationship of Food Habits to Yellow Perch Growth and Population Structure in South Dakota Lakes

Abstract

We compared summer yellow perch (Perca flavescens) food habits among a wide range of perch population types in six South Dakota lakes. Chironomlds were a major dietary component in all populations with mean relative importance (RI) values ranging from 29 to 55. Corixids were a major diety component for highquality (large proprtion of fish 2200 mm TL) yellow perch populations, with mean RI values ranging from 22 to 26. Zooplankters were important sources of prey for yellow perch in low-quality (low proportion of fish 2200 mm TL) populations, with mean RI values ranging from 35 to 51. The fast growth of yellow perch in high-quality populations was attributable to a diet in which macroinvertebrates, specifically chironomids, amphipods and corixids, were the primary prey. Fish were not a substantial component of yellow perch diets in situations were perch attained large size (2 300 mm) and experienced fast growth. A significant negative correlation existed between yellow perch mean back-calculated length at age 3 and the mean RI of zooplankton (r=-0.87, P=0.02). The mean RI of macroinvertebrates was positively correlated with yellow perch growth rates (r=0.86, P=0.03) while there was not a significant correlation between the mean RI of fish and perch growth rates (r=0.66, P=0.16).

Seasonal and Regional Variations of Metal Contamination and Condition Indicators in Yellow Perch (Perca flavescens) along Two Polymetallic Gradients. I. Factors Influencing Tissue Metal Concentrations

“…Yellow perch shift their diet as they grow (Lott et al 1996;Sherwood et al 2000). Juvenile yellow perch feed on large zooplankton, whereas older fish increase their reliance on benthic invertebrates.…”

“…Yellow perch are ubiquitous across northeastern North America, and are found in freshwater ecosystems ranging in size from the St. Lawrence River and Great Lakes to small streams, rivers, and lakes. As it grows from a small schooling forage fish to a predator that can reach 500 g or more in larger water bodies, yellow perch feed successively on zooplankton, benthic invertebrates, and small fish (Lott et al 1996). Because yellow perch have a high tolerance to metals, they are often the only fish species present in highly metal-contaminated lakes (Couture and Rajotte 2003).…”

Quantifying inter-population variability in yellow perch sexual size dimorphism

“…Predicted lengths from the 13 populations used in the predicted length-at-age comparisons were used for this analysis. Predicted lengths-at-age-3 were used because this age group is commonly used for yellow perch growth assessments (Lott et al 1996(Lott et al , 1998Isermann et al 2007). SSD (the difference between female and male predicted lengths-at-age-3) was regressed against several variables including productivity of the lake [Trophic State Index based on total phosphorus (TSI TP , Carlson 1977)], lake morphometry (surface area in ha, maximum depth in m, and mean depth in m), and yellow perch gender-combined population dynamics: growth (K), maximum predicted length (L 1 ), total annual mortality (A), and recruitment variability (recruitment coefficient of determination, RCD).…”

Differential Relations of Age-0 Black Crappie and Yellow Perch to Climatological Variables in a Natural Lake

“…Lott et al (1996) studied yellow perch populations in different types of South Dakota natural lakes. They found that yellow perch recruitment was more consistent in deep natural lakes with high shoreline development that contained submerged aquatic macrophytes than in shallow natural lakes with low shol-eline development and little or no aquatic vegetation.…”