Behavior of Perch Fry Perca fluviatilis (Percidae) in a Heterothermal Environment at Different Levels of Food Availability

Abstract

Temperature and available food are among the key factors affecting fish during their lifetime. The interaction between foraging and thermoregulatory behavioral responses was studied in experimental conditions using 1+ perch individuals. The behavior of fish was examined in a thermally heterogeneous environment with varying levels of food availability: “excessive” (food objects constituted 20% of the overall fish weight in each compartment of the experimental device), “limited” (3%), and “zero” (0%). The values of the final preferred temperatures revealed in these conditions differed significantly: 26, 24, and 22°С, respectively. In the conditions of excessive food, fish locomotor activity was minimal. The food of juvenile fish consumed over 15 minutes was independent of the number of food objects (20 and 3%) in the experimental device, constituting 14.2 and 15.2% of the fish body weight, respectively. However, fish growth was observed only in the first case, probably due to the higher locomotor activity needed to find and obtain food in the environments with fewer food objects. The data presented may be useful for estimating the dominant forms of behavior of juvenile fish both in experimental and field conditions.