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Hypoxic conditions enhance refuge effect of macrophyte zone for small prey fish from piscivorous predators
Author(s) -
Yamanaka H.
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
fisheries management and ecology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.693
H-Index - 55
eISSN - 1365-2400
pISSN - 0969-997X
DOI - 10.1111/fme.12033
Subject(s) - predation , macrophyte , bass (fish) , predator , hypoxia (environmental) , biology , fishery , ecology , oxygen , chemistry , organic chemistry
Body size dependency of the refuge effects of gape limitation and differences in hypoxia tolerance between the predator largemouth bass M icropterus salmoides ( L acépède) and the prey fish, nigorobuna carp C arassius buergeri grandoculis T emminck & S chlegel, were modelled to simulate the relative effect of size and physiological refuges for prey inhabiting the hypoxic macrophyte zone along a lakeshore. The model simulation suggested that a physiological refuge, maintained by the difference in hypoxia tolerance, could protect far smaller prey than a size refuge that is based solely on predator gape size and prey body depth. The dissolved oxygen gradient observed in the macrophyte zone located in Y amanoshita B ay, L ake B iwa, J apan, which was extremely low at the inner part and higher offshore, was determined to provide a physiological refuge that would be effective in terms of space.