Temporal and Spatial Effects on the Diet of an Estuarine Piscivore, Longnose Gar (Lepisosteus osseus)

Chesapeake Bay is the largest estuary in the USA and comprises vast areas of polyhaline to freshwater, tidal fish habitat. The Bay experiences large temperature differences between winter and summer, which in combination with the variety of salinities enables approximately 240 species of fish to be...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Estuaries and coasts Vol. 36; no. 6; pp. 1292 - 1303
Main Authors: McGrath, Patrick E., Hilton, Eric J., Musick, John A.
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: New York Springer Science+Business Media 01.11.2013
Springer US
Springer
Springer Nature B.V
Subjects:
anadromous fish
Animal and plant ecology
Animal populations
Animal, plant and microbial ecology
Autoecology
Biological and medical sciences
Brackish
Brackish water ecosystems
Brevoortia tyrannus
Chesapeake Bay
Coastal Sciences
Diet
Earth and Environmental Science
Ecology
Environment
Environmental Management
Estuaries
Fish
Freshwater & Marine Ecology
Freshwater fish
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Fundulus
General aspects
habitats
Lepisosteus
Lepisosteus osseus
Marine fish
Micropogonias
Micropogonias undulatus
Morone americana
Predation
Predators
Prey
rivers
Salinity
Spawning
summer
Synecology
Tidal rivers
Virginia
Water and Health
Water temperature
winter
ANW, USA, Virginia
ANW, USA, Chesapeake Bay
Virginia
Chesapeake Bay
Prey
Temperature
Anadromous
Lepisosteidae
Seasonality
Salinity
Estuaries
Brackish water environment
Piscivorous
Diet
Feeding
ISSN:1559-2723, 1559-2731
Online Access:Get full text
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Summary:Chesapeake Bay is the largest estuary in the USA and comprises vast areas of polyhaline to freshwater, tidal fish habitat. The Bay experiences large temperature differences between winter and summer, which in combination with the variety of salinities enables approximately 240 species of fish to be temporary inhabitants. This dynamic environment leads to an ever-changing prey field for predators. The goal of this study was to characterize the diet of one of the few resident, euryhaline predators within the tidal rivers in Virginia, Lepisosteus osseus (longnose gar). The top five prey species were Morone americana, Brevoortia tyrannus, Fundulus spp., Micropogonias undulatus, and Leiostomous xanthurus. The diet composition varied with the seasonal fish assemblages, length of L. osseus, water temperature, and salinity. L. osseus consumed a greater amount of marine and anadromous fishes (%W=59.4 % and %N=56.5 %) than resident fishes (%W=40.6 % and %N=43.5 %). The seasonal influx of anadromous or coastal spawning fishes appears to be an important prey source for L. osseus and most likely other piscivores in the tributaries of Chesapeake Bay.
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ISSN:1559-2723
1559-2731
DOI:10.1007/s12237-013-9637-9