Feeding behaviour of two functional groups of 0+ perch Perca fluviatilis (epilimnetic, staying all 24 hours in epilimnion; hypolimnetic, daily migrating between hypolimnion and epilimnion) were investigated in the deep canyon-shaped Slapy Reservoir (Czech Republic) during two 24-h periods in late May and mid June 2002. Densities of most favoured cladocerans and copepods were generally higher in epilimnetic than in hypolimnetic zones. The two 0+ perch groups fed predominantly on cyclopoid copepods during the daytime in May. In June, epilimnetic perch fed on cladocerans (Daphnia sp., Diaphanosoma brachyurum), whereas hypolimnetic perch preferred calanoid copepod Eudiaptomus gracilis. Throughout darkness, when nearly all perch occupied upper strata, their gut contents were clearly dominated by cladocerans Daphnia sp. and Diaphanosoma brachyurum in May and June, respectively. Digestive tract fullness (DTF) of hypolimnetic perch was 2.0–2.8-times lower than the DTF of epilimnetic perch, and a higher share of perch with empty digestive tracts was found in the hypolimnion. Maximum DTF occurred in the epilimnion during the day and/or dusk, whereas at night and dawn progressive evacuation of guts was recorded and migrants returned with low DTF back to the hypolimnion. Low zooplankton abundance, unfavourable light and temperature conditions in the hypolimnetic zone are suboptimal both for prey searching and for overall metabolic processes.
This study investigated the post-spawning dispersal of seven species occurring in a tributary of the Římov Reservoir during
the years 2000-2004. Fish were captured during spawning migration to the tributary, marked and released. The subsequent distribution
of marked fish was followed in the reservoir and tributary during three successive periods 1) early summer, 2) late summer and 3)
the next spawning season. Species were divided into two groups – obligatory tributary spawners (white bream
Blicca bjoerkna
, chub
Squalius cephalus
, bleak
Alburnus alburnus
and asp
Aspius aspius
) that did so predominantly in the tributary of the reservoir and
generalists (bream
Abramis brama
, perch
Perca fluviatilis
and roach
Rutilus rutilus
) that usually spawned in the tributary as well as at
different sites within the reservoir main body. We hypothesized that obligatory tributary spawners would distribute across the reservoir
after spawning according to their species-specific preferences for certain feeding grounds. We expected a relatively low or erratic post-
spawning dispersal for spawning generalists. The results of the study revealed that the post-spawning dispersal of obligatory tributary
spawners is consistent with our hypothesis and they most likely dispersed according to their feeding ground requirements. The post-
spawning dispersal of generalists revealed that the assumed low dispersal was relevant for bream and perch while erratic dispersal was
observed in roach.