Laboratory survival of four prey in the presence of northern pike

Abstract

I determined experimentally the relative survival of similar-sized yellow perch (Perca flavescens), brook stickleback (Culaea inconstans), fathead minnow (Pimephales promelas), and finescale dace (Phoxinus neogaeus), individually and in all possible species combinations, in the presence of northern pike (Esox lucius). Overall, perch showed the highest, sticklebacks and dace the intermediate, and fatheads the lowest relative survival. Differential laboratory survival of prey demonstrates the utility of single species experiments in predicting the results of multiple prey and predator interactions. The results also support the hypothesis that piscivory can maintain the distinctness of assemblages of predation-tolerant and piscivorous species versus assemblages of predation-intolerant species.