Diet of juvenile Galaxias maculatus (Galaxiidae) during the upstream migration period in the lower Waikato River, New Zealand
A. K. Catlin A B , K. J. Collier A C and I. C. Duggan A
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations
A Environmental Research Institute, School of Science, The University of Waikato, Hamilton, New Zealand.
B Present address: Waikato Regional Council, Hamilton, New Zealand.
C Corresponding author: Email: kcollier@waikato.ac.nz
Marine and Freshwater Research 70(6) 816-823 https://doi.org/10.1071/MF18305
Submitted: 20 August 2018 Accepted: 22 November 2018 Published: 21 January 2019
Abstract
We analysed 344 juvenile Galaxias maculatus (length 35–59 mm) collected from two sites in the lower Waikato River, North Island, New Zealand, to determine diet during the period of upstream migration (August–November). In total, 53% of guts contained invertebrate food items comprising 16 taxa, with Cladocera numerically most abundant overall (32% of items), followed by Chironomidae, Saldidae and unidentified Insecta (18–24%). Cladocera heavily dominated G. maculatus diet in October (74–97%), particularly at the upper site, which was downstream of a lake- and wetland-fed tributary inflow. There were greater proportions of the cladocerans Bosmina and Daphnia and fewer Copepoda or Rotifera in guts compared with relative abundances in river water at locations where fish were caught during the day. These results highlight the potential importance of a range of foods items, in particular large zooplankton, to the diet of migratory juvenile G. maculatus, and implicate off-channel habitats as potential sources of cladoceran food following spring high flow events.
Additional keywords: Bosmina, Cladocera, Daphnia, electivity, flow pulse concept, gut analysis.
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