An application of a bioenergetics model to Eurasian perch (<i>Perca fluviatilis</i> L.)

Abstract

A bioenergetics model was developed for Eurasian perch ( Perca fluviatilis L.) by revising an existing model for yellow perch and walleye. Data were gathered from field studies and the literature. Besides adjusting the original parameters of the model, effects of season on consumption and metabolic rates were added. The predictive capability of the revised model was high both concerning the levels of growth and its seasonal development in the Baltic coastal waters to which the model was applied. Perch young‐of‐the‐year attained almost maximum consumption and growth except in the highest temperatures experienced. In larger fish, the model estimated consumption to be about 50 per cent of the maximum possible rate.