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Habitat Preferences and Food Habits of Young‐of‐the‐Year Striped Bass, White Bass, and Yellow Bass in Watts Bar Reservoir, Tennessee
Author(s) -
Van Den Avyle Michael J.,
Higginbotham Billy J.,
James Brian T.,
Bulow Frank J.
Publication year - 1983
Publication title -
north american journal of fisheries management
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.587
H-Index - 72
eISSN - 1548-8675
pISSN - 0275-5947
DOI - 10.1577/1548-8659(1983)3<163:hpafho>2.0.co;2
Subject(s) - bass (fish) , fishery , morone , predation , electrofishing , biology , morone saxatilis , zooplankton , stocking , ecology , fish <actinopterygii>
Resource sharing among stocked striped bass (Morone saxatilis), young‐of‐the‐year white bass (Morone chrysops), and yellow bass (Morone mississippiensis) in Watts Bar Reservoir, Tennessee, was evaluated by determining distribution patterns and prey utilization. Fish were collected in 1978 by electrofishing shoreline transects near seven sites where fingerling striped bass were stocked. Electrofishing catch rates generally were positively correlated among species but preferences for substrates were not consistently detected across sample periods. Although distribution patterns were similar, the three species appeared to utilize different sizes of prey. Striped bass consumed relatively big prey such as fish larvae and large invertebrates while yellow bass mainly ate zooplankton. White bass were opportunistic, eating fish and dipteran larvae when they were abundant but consuming smaller prey at other times. Ecological segregation of the basses by food size may affect the success of striped bass introductions, but qualitative similarities of foods eaten by young‐of‐the‐year striped bass and many other reservoir fishes indicate the need for further studies of resource use and species interactions.