Early life diet quality has lingering effects on juvenile walleye (Sander vitreus)

Session: Exploring Predator-prey Dynamics and Feeding Ecology in the Great Lakes (1)

L. Zoe Almeida, Ohio State University, Aquatic Ecology Laboratory, [email protected]
John Grayson, Ohio State University, [email protected]
Konrad Dabrowski, The Ohio State University, [email protected]
Stuart Ludsin, The Ohio State University, [email protected]
Elizabeth Marschall, Aquatic Ecology Lab., The Ohio State University, [email protected]

Abstract

Climate-induced shifts in plankton blooms may alter fish recruitment by altering the fatty acid composition of larval diets. We explored the short-term and longer-term growth consequences of insufficient polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) for larval walleye. For the first 10 d (21°C, ~15 mg) of feeding, larvae were provided (ad libitum) Artemia supplemented with: oleic acid (low PUFA; no DHA), high docosahexaenoic acid and high eicosapentaenoic acid (high PUFA), or high PUFA and ?-tocopherol (high PUFA + ?T) (n=3 replicates/treatment). After ten days, all fish were fed a high-quality commercial feed (Otohime) and reared for an additional 30 d. Larvae fed a low PUFA diet were smaller (mean ± SD = 15.9 ± 2.2 mg) than those fed the high PUFA (18.7 ± 2.8 mg) or high PUFA + ?T (17.9 ± 2.6 mg) diet (P < 0.001) after 10 d of feeding. After 30 days, juveniles initially fed the low PUFA diet were still significantly smaller (311.6 ± 23.7 mg) than those initially fed the high PUFA diet (343.0 ± 52.7 mg) (P = 0.01). Our findings demonstrate that low-quality larval diets have lingering effects, which may affect the ability of first-year fish to survive and recruit.

Twitter handle of presenter
@almeida_zoe