Thirty-year-old paradigm about unpalatable perch egg strands disclaimed by the freshwater top-predator, the European catfish (Silurus glanis)

0470790 - BC 2017 RIV US eng J - Journal Article
Vejřík, Lukáš - Vejříková, Ivana - Kočvara, Luboš - Sajdlová, Zuzana - Chung, S.H.T. - Šmejkal, Marek - Peterka, Jiří - Čech, Martin
Thirty-year-old paradigm about unpalatable perch egg strands disclaimed by the freshwater top-predator, the European catfish (Silurus glanis).
PLoS ONE. Roč. 12, č. 1 (2017), č. článku e0169000. ISSN 1932-6203. E-ISSN 1932-6203
R&D Projects: GA MŠMT(CZ) EE2.3.20.0204; GA MŠMT(CZ) 7F14316; GA ČR GP206/09/P266
EU Projects: European Commission(XE) 677039 - ClimeFish
Institutional support: RVO:60077344
Keywords : diet * impact on population * niche width * predator-prey interactions * reproductive effort
OECD category: Zoology
Impact factor: 2.766, year: 2017

So far, perch egg strands have been considered unpalatable biological material. However, we repeatedly found egg strands of European perch (Perca fluviatilis) in the diet of European catfish (Silurus glanis) caught by longlines in Milada and Most Lakes, Czech Republic. The finding proves that perch egg strands compose a standard food source for this large freshwater predatory fish. It extends the present knowledge on catfish foraging plasticity, showing it as an even more opportunistic feeder. Utilization of perch egg strands broadens the catfish diet niche width and represents an advantage against other fish predators. Comparison of datasets from extensive gillnet and SCUBA diver sampling campaigns gave the evidence that at least in localities where food sources are limited, multilevel predation by catfish may have an important impact on the perch population.
Permanent Link: http://hdl.handle.net/11104/0268350