Foraging and Prey Search Behaviour of Golden Shiner (Notemigonus crysoleucas) Larvae

Abstract

The juveniles of several species of freshwater fish search for zooplankton prey using a strategy intermediate between cruise and ambush: "saltatory search" (SS) or "pause–travel" search. Unlike ambush or cruise search, saltatory search involves scanning for prey throughout the search space and only during the brief stationary periods that punctuate repositioning movements. If no prey are located, these fish swim a short distance, stop, and scan again. In this paper, we describe the ontogeny of prey search in a cyprinid, the golden shiner (Notemigonus crysoleucas), a species whose search pattern has not been examined. Swimming and pursuit speeds and prey location distances increased with fish size. Golden shiner larvae searched for prey throughout the search space and only during the pauses that punctuated swimming movements. Only 1–10% of all of the stationary pauses that punctuated swimming movements were followed by attacks on prey. We conclude that golden shiner larvae employ a saltatory-search strategy similar to that described in other zooplanktivorous fish and their larvae.