Growth and Survival of Larval Fishes: The Role of Zooplankton Abundance and Competition

Interactions among larval gizzard shad, bluegill and zooplankton prey were examined via a controlled mesocosm experiment and field sampling in Lake Shelbyville, Illinois. In the mesocosm experiment gizzard shad growth and survival were negatively correlated with shad density and positively correlated with macrozooplankton prey. Bluegill growth was also positively correlated with prey availability, but survival was uniformly high despite differences in zooplankton abundance and fish density. Declines in macrozooplankton and copepod biomass were related to fish density. In Lake Shelbyville limnetic overlap of larval gizzard shad and bluegill was limited to a three week period, with the interval of greatest shad abundance preceding the appearance of bluegill. Zooplankton abundance declined greatly following the peak in shad abundance, and remained low when bluegill were present-a pattern documented in previous studies. Growth rates of gizzard shad were highest early and declined throughout the summer, whereas bluegill growth was highest during mid to late summer. Growth rates of gizzard shad and bluegill were not correlated with fish density. However, as predicted from the mesocosm experiment, bluegill growth was correlated with available zooplankton prey. Diet overlap was high as gizzard shad and bluegill fed selectively on smaller prey items in June, switching to larger bodied cladocerans and copepods by July. As in the mesocosm experiment, zooplankton biomass was negatively correlated with fish density. We found no evidence of differential survival of larval bluegill over time in juveniles collected from the littoral zone in the fall. Our results suggest that growth and survival of planktivorous larval gizzard shad and bluegill are affected by availability of zooplankton prey, and that both intra- and interspecific exploitative competition can occur when resources become limiting