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Visual Feeding by Juvenile Bear Lake Sculpin
Author(s) -
Neverman Darcy,
Wurtsbaugh Wayne A.
Publication year - 1992
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(1992)121<0395:vfbjbl>2.3.co;2
Subject(s) - sculpin , benthic zone , juvenile , fishery , cottus , biology , light intensity , fish <actinopterygii> , range (aeronautics) , shoal , zoology , ecology , oceanography , physics , geology , materials science , optics , composite material
Young‐of‐the‐year Bear Lake sculpin Cottus extensus feed throughout the day on benthic invertebrates and cease feeding at night when they migrate to the metalimnion. We investigated their reliance on vision by conducting feeding trials at different light levels in the laboratory. Feeding rate reached a maximum at intermediate light levels (near 10 16 photons·m −2 ·s −1 ; approximately 1 lux) but decreased as light intensity increased beyond this range. At this maximum rate, the fish fed nine times faster than they were able to feed in the dark, showing that young Bear Lake sculpin rely heavily upon vision to feed. The light intensity at which feeding was greatest corresponded to intensities found on the bottom of Bear Lake (40–60 m) during the day.