Growth of 0+perch (Perca fluviatilis) predating on 0+bream (Abramis brama)

Larvae and juveniles of perch Perca fluviatilis and bream Abramis brama of Lake Speldrop, a highly eutrophicated gravel-pit lake in the floodplain of the Lower Rhine, were used in laboratory experiments to study predation of perch on bream. In the first series of experiments (control), 0+ perch of 30 mm total length (TL) did not prey on 0+ roach of about 24 mm TL. The perch fed only on zooplankton, resulting in low growth rates of 0.17 mm . day(-1). In the second series of experiments, perch (30 mm TL) were combined with 0+ bream with an average TL of 14 and 19 mm at different ratios. As in the first series, even a nine-fold higher amount of zooplankton food had no significant influence on the growth rate of perch, regardless of the perch:bream ratio. At a perch: bream ratio of 7:1 and 4:4 all bream were eaten by the perch and restocked twice daily. At the end of the experiment, the TL of perch at a perch:bream ratio of 7:1 was significantly lower compared to a perch:bream ratio of 4:4 (mean growth rates at 7:1 of 0.16 mm . day(-1) and at 4:4 of 0.35 mm . day(-1)). At the perch:bream ratio of 1:7, perch fed on bream in varying amounts, averaging between 3 and 12 bream per day and per individual. After 20 days, the final length of these fish was always significantly higher than the TL of perch at other perch:bream ratios and increased in correlation to number of bream eaten per day (mean growth rate 1.13 . mm day(-1)). The results are discussed with respect to the piscivore-dominated fish community of the eutrophied Lake Speldrop.