Food of freshwater drum in western Lake Erie
Links
- More information: Publisher Index Page (via DOI)
- Download citation as: RIS | Dublin Core
Abstract
The abundance of freshwater drum (Aplodinotus grunniens) suggests they play an important role in the Lake Erie ecosystem. Our analysis of freshwater drum digestive tracts and macrobenthic samples collected from western Lake Erie indicates that drum were selective feeders. Planktonic cladocerans and larval midges (Chironomidae) were the primary prey organisms eaten by drum. Young-of-the-year fed mostly on cladocerans, while yearling and older drum ate both cladocerans and midge larvae. Decapods, pelecypods, and fish were found only in the digestive tracts of drum longer than 250 mm. While the most abundant organisms in benthic samples were cladocerans (ephippial) and oligochaetes (89.5% by number), they constituted less than 1% of the diet. An evaluation of food selectivity, using Ivlev's index of electivity for benthic organisms, indicated that adult drum preferred midges to any other benthic food.
| Publication type | Article |
|---|---|
| Publication Subtype | Journal Article |
| Title | Food of freshwater drum in western Lake Erie |
| Series title | Journal of Great Lakes Research |
| DOI | 10.1016/S0380-1330(82)72007-6 |
| Volume | 8 |
| Issue | 4 |
| Year Published | 1982 |
| Language | English |
| Publisher | Elsevier |
| Contributing office(s) | Great Lakes Science Center |
| Description | 4 p. |
| First page | 672 |
| Last page | 675 |
| Online Only (Y/N) | N |
| Additional Online Files (Y/N) | N |
| Google Analytic Metrics | Metrics page |