Distribution of perch (Perca fluviatilis L.) during their first year of life in Lake Constance (original) (raw)

Abstract

The distribution and behaviour of larval and juvenile perch (Perca fluviatilis L.) were studied for two years in large, deep Lake Constance. After hatching larvae were transported by water currents to the open water. The majority of larvae remained in the pelagic zone for about one month. In both years, their return to the littoral zone coincided with the decline of pelagic zooplankton abundance. After returning to the littoral zone, juveniles stayed among submerged macrophytes within 5 m depth and lived apart from larger perch which lived at depths of 6–20 m. By late summer, juveniles changed their distribution pattern: during the day they stayed intensively close to piers and ports, but increased their swimming activity at dusk, cruising among shallow and deep waters and feeding on zooplankton, and rested on the bottom at night. This behaviour appears to be related to the decrease of inshore food resources and to the presence of predators in deeper water. 0+ perch left the littoral zone and moved into deep waters when autumnal mixing began in late October. They overwintered near the bottom at depths of more than 30 m. During most of the year, juvenile and adult perch were separated from each other. But as soon as they occupied the same habitat, the occurrence of cannibalism increased.

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Author notes

1. Reiner Eckmann
   Present address: Institute of Freshwater and Fisheries Ecology, Müggelseedamm 310, D-12587, Berlin, Germany

Authors and Affiliations

1. Limnological Institute, University of Constance, D-78464, Konstanz, Germany
   Ning Wang & Reiner Eckmann

Authors

1. Ning Wang
2. Reiner Eckmann

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Wang, N., Eckmann, R. Distribution of perch (Perca fluviatilis L.) during their first year of life in Lake Constance.Hydrobiologia 277, 135–143 (1994). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00007295

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• Received: 18 November 1992
• Revised: 04 May 1993
• Accepted: 29 June 1993
• Issue date: March 1994
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00007295

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