Ecology of forage fish following cessation of overharvest of walleye in Henderson Lake, Ontario

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Date
1988Author
Trimble, Kevin
Subject
Fishes Ecology Ontario Henderson LakeWalleye (Fish) Ontario Henderson Lake
Yellow perch population dynamics
Forage fish interactions
Metadata
Show full item recordAbstract
I examined the forage base of Henderson Lake, Ontario
following collapse of its walleye stock due to overexploitation,
and an inexplicable decline of the ninespine stickleback
population. In response to these events a very large yellow
perch year class was produced. Subsequently, adult perch density
increased while growth, mortality, size at maturity and
fecundity decreased. Continued stunting in young yellow perch
could not be attributed to direct interspecific competition with
abundant shiners. As northern pike activity increased shiner
activity declined but yellow perch remained active and available
as prey. Thus, small perch occurred much more frequently in the
diets of northern pike than did shiners. The large numbers of
stunted yellow perch may provide excellent forage for enhancing
the recovery of the walleye population.