New Zealand Journal of Marine and Freshwater Research abstracts
Dietary alterations in resident and migratory New Zealand common smelt
(Retropinna retropinna) in lower Waikato lakes after two
decades of habitat change
T. G. NORTHCOTE
Department of Zoology
University of British Columbia
Vancouver, B.C., Canada
email: tnorthco@vip.net
M. A. CHAPMAN+
Department of Biological Sciences
University of Waikato
Hamilton, New Zealand
email: a.chapman@waikato.ac.nz
Abstract The diets of lake resident and both allopatric and sympatric
migratory (diadromous) forms of common smelt (
Retropinna retropinna
(Richardson))
in Lakes Waahi and Whangape (Lower Waikato River
system, New Zealand) were examined before and after collapse of macrophyte beds
and loss of associated invertebrates. Before this diets were varied, but
dominated by chironomid larvae and pupae, supplemented by semiplanktonic
crustaceans in small smelt in particular and by corixids in larger smelt.
Afterwards diets were less diverse and the main food items were mysid shrimps.
The opportunistic, generalist feeding habits of smelt help their survival of
habitat changes.
Keywords New Zealand; lakes; Lake Waahi; Lake Whangape; fish; smelt;
Retropinna retropinna; feeding; macrophytes; invertebrates
+To whom requests for reprints should be
addressed.
M98011
Received 24 March 1998; accepted 8 October
1998
PDF file of entire paper: medium quality (748K); (scanned from paper original: notes about this process)
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