Apparent Size as the Determinant of Prey Selection by Bluegill Sunfish (Lepomis Macrochirus)

Abstract

Although it is known that visual predation by planktivorous fish tends to be size selective, the mechanism by which fish select their prey has not previously been described. Experiments in which bluegill sunfish (Lepomis macrochirus) were given a binary choice between prey of different sizes presented at different distances showed the fish selected the prey that appeared largest, either because of its actual size or its proximity to the fish. This paper incorporates this mechanism of prey selection by apparent size into a model of bluegill predation. According to the model, bluegill, in choosing the apparently largest prey under all conditions, alter their diet composition depending upon the abundance of prey. When prey are abundant, bluegill predominantly select prey of the largest size class available because these have the greatest probability of appearing largest; as large prey become scarce and smaller prey have a greater chance of appearing large, the fish tend to eat more prey from smaller size classes. When the model is tested against data from published fish-feeding experiments, the predicted size ratios of prey eaten correlate accurately with the observed ratios and numbers of prey eaten.