Relationships between habitat characteristics and round goby abundance in Lakes Michigan and Huron

Coulter, David P.; Murry, Brent A.; Uzarski, Donald G

doi:10.1016/j.jglr.2015.06.001

Cited by 5 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 33 publications

(43 reference statements)

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“…In its native range, the Ponto-Caspian region, this species utilizes shallow hard substrates (rocks, gravel, mussel beds), but also seagrass meadows (Svetovidov 1964;Bogutskaya et al 2004). However, Moran and Simon (2013) documented the occurrence of smaller round gobies in less complex gravel habitats, while larger individuals were associated with structurally more complex areas, suggesting that habitat type alone might not be the sole factor explaining the distribution of this species (Coulter et al 2015). The presence of small, mainly juvenile, round gobies at the study site might be related to its relatively young invasion history as small round gobies have been linked to more recently colonized sites and larger individuals to originally invaded areas (Ray and Corkum 2001).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 97%

Habitat utilization and feeding ecology of small round goby in a shallow brackish lagoon

Henseler

Kotterba²,

Bonsdorff

et al. 2020

Mar. Biodivers.

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We examined small-scale distribution and feeding ecology of a non-native fish species, round goby (Neogobius melanostomus (Pallas, 1814)), in different habitats of a coastal lagoon situated in the south-western Baltic Sea. First observations of round goby in this lagoon were reported in 2011, 3 years before the current study was conducted, and information on this species’ basic ecology in different habitats is limited. We found that mainly juvenile round gobies are non-randomly distributed between habitats and that abundances potentially correlate positively with vegetation density and thus structural complexity of the environment. Abundances were highest in shallower, more densely vegetated habitats indicating that these areas might act as a refuge for small round gobies by possibly offering decreased predation risk and better feeding resources. Round goby diet composition was distinct for several length classes suggesting an ontogenetic diet shift concerning crustacean prey taxa between small (≤ 50 mm total length, feeding mainly on zooplankton) and medium individuals (51–100 mm, feeding mainly on benthic crustaceans) and another diet shift of increasing molluscivory with increasing body size across all length classes. Differences in round goby diet between habitats within the smallest length class might potentially be related to prey availability in the environment, which would point to an opportunistic feeding strategy. Here, we offer new insights into the basic ecology of round goby in littoral habitats, providing a better understanding of the ecological role of this invasive species in its non-native range, which might help to assess potential consequences for native fauna and ecosystems.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 97%