Effects of environmental factors on size-related growth efficiency of perch, Perca fluviatilis

Authors: Holmgren K.; Appelberg M.

Source: Ecology of Freshwater Fish, Volume 10, Number 4, December 2001 , pp. 247-256(10)

Publisher: Wiley-Blackwell

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Abstract:

Abstract –

Two aspects of size-dependent growth were addressed using perch, Perca fluviatilis L, from 22 Swedish lakes. Firstly, maximum annual growth decreased linearly with length after the previous year. Secondly, median or realized growth showed a non-linear pattern, with minimum growth efficiency at intermediate length, probably related to the shift from invertebrate to fish diet. Between-lake variation in size-related growth efficiency was better explained by fish community characteristics than by abiotic factors. The growth of most size classes was negatively related to fish biomass, especially to biomass of 100 to 199-mm perch. Growth efficiency of perch >200 mm was positively related to the proportion of large perch in the community. These size- and density-dependent growth responses suggest that effects of competitive and predatory interactions will often mask the controlling or limiting effects of abiotic factors, such that realized growth of individuals and populations are poorly described by deterministic asymptotic growth models.

Keywords: potential growth; realized growth; abiotic factors; fish community structure

Language: English

Document Type: Original article

Affiliations: 1: National Board of Fisheries, Institute of Freshwater Research, Drottningholm, Sweden *

Publication date: 2001-12-01