What northern pike (Esox lucius) stomach contents reveal about post-management community dynamics in Lac La Biche, Alberta
Predator density within freshwater lakes is often manipulated to restore commercially important species; however, such management may inadvertently result in dietary shifts of existing predator populations. The 2005 Fisheries Restoration Program in Lac La Biche, Alberta, was established to recover w...
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ftmacewanuojs:oai:journals.macewan.ca:article/2104 2023-05-15T17:06:17+02:00 What northern pike (Esox lucius) stomach contents reveal about post-management community dynamics in Lac La Biche, Alberta Roth , Jennifer 2021-09-07 https://journals.macewan.ca/studentresearch/article/view/2104 unknown MacEwan Open Journals https://journals.macewan.ca/studentresearch/article/view/2104 Student Research Proceedings; Vol. 6 No. 1 (2021): Student Research Day 2021 info:eu-repo/semantics/article info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion 2021 ftmacewanuojs 2023-01-10T17:07:46Z Predator density within freshwater lakes is often manipulated to restore commercially important species; however, such management may inadvertently result in dietary shifts of existing predator populations. The 2005 Fisheries Restoration Program in Lac La Biche, Alberta, was established to recover walleye (Sander vitreus) populations through both bird culls and intensive stocking. Although walleye abundance increased dramatically, other dominant piscivores' responses to management actions, namely the Northern pike (Esox lucius), were less clear. To avoid high interspecific competition for prey fish, pike may shift their diets to incorporate a greater abundance of invertebrates. However, the overall importance of invertivory is community-dependent and remains understudied. To elucidate how pike feeding and community interactions have changed in response to management in Lac La Biche, a stomach content analysis was performed on 121 pike stomachs sampled during Fall Walleye Index Netting Surveys between 2009 and 2013. Piscivory was the most common feeding style (34.1% ±4.7% SE), with yellow perch (Perca flavescens) and coregonids the most common prey. Invertivory and mixed-feeding remained relatively uncommon and stable (4.6% ±2.1% SE and 16.3% ±2.6% SE, respectively). Although invertebrates represent a valuable supplement, pure invertivory as a specialization remains uncommon in this population during the sampled years. Department: Biology Faculty Mentors: Dr. David Locky and Dr. Mrinal Das Article in Journal/Newspaper Lac la Biche MacEwan Open Journals (MacEwan University) |
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MacEwan Open Journals (MacEwan University) |
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Predator density within freshwater lakes is often manipulated to restore commercially important species; however, such management may inadvertently result in dietary shifts of existing predator populations. The 2005 Fisheries Restoration Program in Lac La Biche, Alberta, was established to recover walleye (Sander vitreus) populations through both bird culls and intensive stocking. Although walleye abundance increased dramatically, other dominant piscivores' responses to management actions, namely the Northern pike (Esox lucius), were less clear. To avoid high interspecific competition for prey fish, pike may shift their diets to incorporate a greater abundance of invertebrates. However, the overall importance of invertivory is community-dependent and remains understudied. To elucidate how pike feeding and community interactions have changed in response to management in Lac La Biche, a stomach content analysis was performed on 121 pike stomachs sampled during Fall Walleye Index Netting Surveys between 2009 and 2013. Piscivory was the most common feeding style (34.1% ±4.7% SE), with yellow perch (Perca flavescens) and coregonids the most common prey. Invertivory and mixed-feeding remained relatively uncommon and stable (4.6% ±2.1% SE and 16.3% ±2.6% SE, respectively). Although invertebrates represent a valuable supplement, pure invertivory as a specialization remains uncommon in this population during the sampled years. Department: Biology Faculty Mentors: Dr. David Locky and Dr. Mrinal Das |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Roth , Jennifer |
spellingShingle |
Roth , Jennifer What northern pike (Esox lucius) stomach contents reveal about post-management community dynamics in Lac La Biche, Alberta |
author_facet |
Roth , Jennifer |
author_sort |
Roth , Jennifer |
title |
What northern pike (Esox lucius) stomach contents reveal about post-management community dynamics in Lac La Biche, Alberta |
title_short |
What northern pike (Esox lucius) stomach contents reveal about post-management community dynamics in Lac La Biche, Alberta |
title_full |
What northern pike (Esox lucius) stomach contents reveal about post-management community dynamics in Lac La Biche, Alberta |
title_fullStr |
What northern pike (Esox lucius) stomach contents reveal about post-management community dynamics in Lac La Biche, Alberta |
title_full_unstemmed |
What northern pike (Esox lucius) stomach contents reveal about post-management community dynamics in Lac La Biche, Alberta |
title_sort |
what northern pike (esox lucius) stomach contents reveal about post-management community dynamics in lac la biche, alberta |
publisher |
MacEwan Open Journals |
publishDate |
2021 |
url |
https://journals.macewan.ca/studentresearch/article/view/2104 |
genre |
Lac la Biche |
genre_facet |
Lac la Biche |
op_source |
Student Research Proceedings; Vol. 6 No. 1 (2021): Student Research Day 2021 |
op_relation |
https://journals.macewan.ca/studentresearch/article/view/2104 |
_version_ |
1766061347842293760 |