The Low Ontogenetic Diet Diversity and Flexibility of the Pike-Perch, Sander lucioperca (Linnaeus, 1758) (Osteichthyes, Percidae): A Case Study

Abstract

This study reveals the diet of pike-perch from two habitats within the Tersko-Caspian region. The feeding habits of pike-perch in the Sulak and Terek rivers and Tersko-Caspian region were investigated based on 354 specimens sampled monthly from a commercial catch in 2019. Their diet consisted of different prey, with fish representing the most important prey group (up to 90%). Rutilus caspicus dominated with a frequency of occurrence of 20.5, and Aspius aspius, Perca fluviatilis, and Chondrostoma oxyrhynchum, had 13, 9.5, and 8.3%. In the earlier ages 1+ and 2+, zooplankton dominated, followed by mysids and chironomids, which continues into the older ages but at decreasing rates. Analysis of monthly variations in stomach fullness indicated that feeding intensity fluctuated in time, with the highest values in March–April, and lowest in September and November. It was found that the diet of pike-perch in the western Caspian changed considerably from season to season. They begin to actively feed after wintering and before, or even during, spawning period. The spectrum of the diet of Sander lucioperca includes more than 20 elements, mainly juveniles of commercially valuable fish. This fish is characterized by a relatively low ontogenetic diet diversity and flexibility, which makes it sensitive to environmental changes, including anthropogenically induced ones. This fish partially compensates for this disadvantage with its lifestyle, namely, its active foraging movements and migrations from fresh water to salt water and back, following its prey species.