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<p>The presented study aimed at comprehensive assessment of the <italic>Perccottus glenii</italic> (Amur sleeper) impact on the aquatic ecosystem. Our objective was to analyze the diet, the characteristics of the prey and the feeding behavior of the Amur sleeper. Fish (349 individuals) were captured by electrofishing in autumn 2012. To estimate the dietary importance of each prey category, we calculated the percentage or proportion of each food item and its frequency of occurrence. The Costello graphical method was applied to describe the feeding strategy and prey importance. A total number of 55 taxa of benthic macroinvertebrates were identified, amounting to a total of 2448 individuals. The digestive tract was empty in 48 individuals of the Amur sleeper. The most frequent prey items of the Amur sleeper were <italic>Asellus aquaticus</italic> L, <italic>Baetis</italic> spp., the Chironomidae family which was represented by 22 taxa identified to the genus and species levels, <italic>Corixa</italic> spp. and <italic>Physa acuta</italic> Drap. Depending on the frequency of prey items, two categories of size classes with specific diet compositions in the Amur sleeper populations were determined. Feeding strategy, cluster indicators of the size classes and traits of macroinvertebrates were the main aspects covered by our study of the Amur sleeper feeding behavior.</p>
</abstract>

The presented study aimed at comprehensive assessment of the Perccottus glenii (Amur sleeper) impact on the aquatic ecosystem. Our objective was to analyze the diet, the characteristics of the prey and the feeding behavior of the Amur sleeper. Fish (349 individuals) were captured by electrofishing in autumn 2012. To estimate the dietary importance of each prey category, we calculated the percentage or proportion of each food item and its frequency of occurrence. The Costello graphical method was applied to describe the feeding strategy and prey importance. A total number of 55 taxa of benthic macroinvertebrates were identified, amounting to a total of 2448 individuals. The digestive tract was empty in 48 individuals of the Amur sleeper. The most frequent prey items of the Amur sleeper were Asellus aquaticus L, Baetis spp., the Chironomidae family which was represented by 22 taxa identified to the genus and species levels, Corixa spp. and Physa acuta Drap. Depending on the frequency of prey items, two categories of size classes with specific diet compositions in the Amur sleeper populations were determined. Feeding strategy, cluster indicators of the size classes and traits of macroinvertebrates were the main aspects covered by our study of the Amur sleeper feeding behavior.

The impact of amur sleeper (<italic>Perccottus glenii</italic> Dybowsky, 1877) on the riverine ecosystem: food selectivity of amur sleeper in a recently colonized river

Department of Biology, Faculty of Biology

Department of Ecology, Freshwater Ecology and Management (F.E.M.) Research Group, Faculty of Biology

Department of Geography, Faculty of Geography

Oceanological and Hydrobiological Studies

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

The impact of amur sleeper ( Dybowsky, 1877) on the riverine ecosystem: food selectivity of amur sleeper in a recently colonized river

The presented study aimed at comprehensive assessment of the Perccottus glenii (Amur sleeper) impact on the aquatic ecosystem. Our objective was to analyze the...

The impact of amur sleeper (Perccottus glenii Dybowsky, 1877) on the riverine ecosystem: food selectivity of amur sleeper in a recently colonized river

Article Category: Original research paper

Publié en ligne: 06 mars 2017

Pages: 96 - 107

Reçu: 19 janv. 2016

Accepté: 24 mai 2016

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/ohs-2017-0010

© Faculty of Oceanography and Geography, University of Gdańsk, Poland. All rights reserved

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.