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The Effect of Fish Predation on the Zooplankton of Ten Adirondack Lakes, with Particular Reference to the Alewife, Alosa pseudoharengus
Author(s) -
Hutchinson Brendan P.
Publication year - 1971
Publication title -
transactions of the american fisheries society
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.696
H-Index - 86
eISSN - 1548-8659
pISSN - 0002-8487
DOI - 10.1577/1548-8659(1971)100<325:teofpo>2.0.co;2
Subject(s) - alewife , bosmina , limnetic zone , zooplankton , biology , predation , ecology , fishery , plankton , daphnia , littoral zone
Stomach contents of alewives collected in Black Pond in 1958 consisted primarily of Diaptomus, Epischura, Mesocyclops, and Daphnia. Food of Black Pond alewives in 1966 consisted mainly of Bosmina, Holopedium, cyclopoid copepods (Cyclops, Macrocyclops, Tropocyclops), and chironomid pupae. Alewife stomach contents were compared with limnetic plankton samples to determine whether the alewives were selective in their choice of food organisms. Both species and size selectivity were observed. The evidence collected suggests that alewife predation was responsible for a change in the zooplankton community of Black Pond. The zooplankton communities of 10 Adirondack lakes were compared. The species and size composition of these communities appeared to be influenced by the presence of planktivorous fish.