Re: NANFA--Native Fishes and Exotic Mollusks

John Bongiovanni (bongi_at_cox-internet.com)
Tue, 8 Apr 2003 15:15:13 -0500

Sounds like the Zebra mussles need an additional predator. I wonder how long it took for the Drum to discover the zebra mussels as a food source? Any idea what they gave up eating in exchange for the zebra mussels? What impact does that have on distribution and density of the previous prey organisms.

John

>
> From: "Hoover, Jan J ERDC-EL-MS" <HOOVERJ_at_wes.army.mil>
> Date: 2003/04/08 Tue PM 01:57:37 CDT
> To: "'nanfa_at_aquaria.net'" <nanfa at aquaria.net>
> Subject: NANFA--Native Fishes and Exotic Mollusks
>
> The Oct 2002 issue of Freshwater Biology contains this interesting article:
>
> "Predation on exotic zebra mussels by native fishes: effects on predator and
> prey," by Daniel D.Magoulick and Lindsey C. Lewis, University of Arkansas.
>
> Article describes field studies showing: 1) that zebra mussels were primary
> prey for 48.2% of freshwater drum, 52.9% of blue catfish, and 100% of redear
> sunfish; 2) fish significantly reduced densities of large (> 5 mm) zebra
> mussels. Authors describe seasonal shifts in diets of fishes, and
> differences among species in processing mussels. They conclude that while
> fish could suppress zebra mussel colonization, they were "ultimately
> unlikely to limit population density because of zebra mussel reproductivce
> potential. "
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/ reflect the beliefs or goals of the North American Native Fishes
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/ For more information about NANFA, visit our web page, http://www.nanfa.org