Seasonal dynamics of growth and feeding of big-headed sculpin Batrachocottus baicalensis (Cottidae) in the Cape Berezovyi area (southern Baikal)

The seasonal features of the growth and feeding of one of the mass fish species of the littoral zone of Lake Baikal, big-headed sculpin Batrachocottus baicalensis , are investigated in the study area near the Cape Berezovyi (southern Baikal). It is found that the greatest increase of the linear para...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of ichthyology 2008, Vol.48 (3), p.241-248
Main Authors: Tolmacheva, Yu. P., Gavrilova, A. V., Bogdanov, B. E., Dzyuba, E. V., Veinberg, I. V., Rozhkova, N. A., Maksimova, N. V., Zubina, L. V.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Batrachocottus
Biomedical and Life Sciences
Cottidae
Freshwater
Life Sciences
Zoology
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Summary:The seasonal features of the growth and feeding of one of the mass fish species of the littoral zone of Lake Baikal, big-headed sculpin Batrachocottus baicalensis , are investigated in the study area near the Cape Berezovyi (southern Baikal). It is found that the greatest increase of the linear parameters of the individuals of all age classes occurs in autumn, in the middle of the feeding period. Twenty-nine food objects, i.e., invertebrates and fishes, have been noted in the feeding spectrum of big-headed sculpin. It is found that the amphipods comprise the basic food year round. The transition of big-headed sculpin to predominant consumption of fish food is noted in the reproduction periods of other sculpins in the shallows. In general, the seasonal changing in species composition and food object ratio in the food are due to the fish life cycles, migrations of amphipods of different species, and, to a lesser extent, changing numbers of different groups of zoobenthos.
ISSN:0032-9452
1555-6425
DOI:10.1134/S0032945208030065