Abstract
Diel changes in occurrence and feeding habits of juvenile channel catfish (Ictalurus punctatus) were examined in offshore breakwater areas in Lake Kasumigaura, Japan, to understand their nocturnal behavioral ecology within a lentic habitat. Juveniles (20–56 mm in standard length) occurred more abundantly in evening and nighttime than in daytime and fed mainly during darkness hours. Major food items comprised chironomid larvae and cladocerans. The relative proportion of those items in stomach contents changed from daytime to evening and nighttime, possibly being partly related to diel changes in prey accessibility.
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Acknowledgments
We thank Graham S. Hardy (New Zealand), H. Hanzawa (Ibaraki Fisheries Research Institute) and the anonymous reviewers for critical comments on the manuscript. We also thank the Kasumigaura Fishermen’s Cooperative Association for their support during this investigation. All sampling in this study complied with the Invasive Alien Act in Japan.
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Yamazaki, K., Kanou, K. & Arayama, K. Nocturnal activity and feeding of juvenile channel catfish, Ictalurus punctatus, around offshore breakwaters in Lake Kasumigaura, Japan. Ichthyol Res 66, 166–171 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10228-018-0653-4
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10228-018-0653-4