Thirty-Year-Old Paradigm about Unpalatable Perch Egg Strands Disclaimed by the Freshwater Top-Predator, the European Catfish (Silurus glanis)

PLoS One. 2017 Jan 6;12(1):e0169000. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0169000. eCollection 2017.

Abstract

So far, perch egg strands have been considered unpalatable biological material. However, we repeatedly found egg strands of European perch (Perca fluviatilis) in the diet of European catfish (Silurus glanis) caught by longlines in Milada and Most Lakes, Czech Republic. The finding proves that perch egg strands compose a standard food source for this large freshwater predatory fish. It extends the present knowledge on catfish foraging plasticity, showing it as an even more opportunistic feeder. Utilization of perch egg strands broadens the catfish diet niche width and represents an advantage against other fish predators. Comparison of datasets from extensive gillnet and SCUBA diver sampling campaigns gave the evidence that at least in localities where food sources are limited, multilevel predation by catfish may have an important impact on the perch population.

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Catfishes*
  • Czech Republic
  • Fresh Water*
  • Gastrointestinal Contents
  • Lakes
  • Perches*
  • Predatory Behavior*

Grants and funding

The study was supported by projects No. CZ.1.07/2.3.00/20.0204 (CEKOPOT) of the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports, No. 7F14316 of the Norwegian Financial Mechanism 2009–2014 under contract number MSMT-28477/2014, No. 206/09/P266 of the Czech Science Foundation, No. 677039 (CLIMEFISH) of the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme, and No. 04-151/2016/P of the Grant Agency of University of South Bohemia.