Understanding whether fishes feed selectively is important for informing conservation and management actions such as selecting receiving waters for stocked fishes and prioritizing nursery habitats for preservation or restoration. We conducted a laboratory experiment to determine if (1) age-0 muskellunge (Esox masquinongy) and northern pike (E. lucius), two primarily piscivorous congeners in the Laurentian Great Lakes, fed selectively among four prey species (bluntnose minnow [Pimephales notatus], johnny darter [Etheostoma nigrum], rock bass [Ambloplites rupestris], and yellow perch [Perca flavescens]) with different anti-predator behaviors and morphologies, and (2) prey selection and time to consumption differed between predators. Muskellunge strongly selected bluntnose minnow and avoided the other prey species. Northern pike also strongly selected bluntnose minnow and avoided johnny darter and rock bass, but exhibited slight avoidance to neutral selection of yellow perch. Mean time to consumption differed between species, with northern pike feeding more quickly than muskellunge. Further controlled experimentation is needed to reveal whether growth and survival differs when these predators consume preferred vs. non-preferred prey. In the interim, we recommend managers presume nursery habitats with soft-rayed, fusiform, non-demersal prey fishes are most likely to support growth and survival of age-0 muskellunge and northern pike.

了解鱼类是否有选择性地喂食对于告知保护和管理行动很重要，例如选择放养鱼类的接收水域和优先考虑保育或恢复育苗栖息地。我们进行了一项实验室实验，以确定 (1) 年龄 0 muskellunge ( Esox masquinongy ) 和北梭子鱼 ( E. lucius )，劳伦森五大湖中的两种主要食鱼同系物，是否在四种猎物 (bluntnose minnow [ Pimephales notatus ]、johnny darter [ Etheostoma nigrum ]、摇滚鲈鱼 [ Ambloplites rupestris ] 和黄鲈鱼 [ Perca flavescens]）具有不同的反捕食者行为和形态，以及（2）捕食者之间的猎物选择和消耗时间不同。Muskellunge 强烈选择钝鼻鲦鱼并避开其他猎物。北梭子鱼也强烈选择钝鼻鲦鱼，并避免选择约翰尼达特和摇滚鲈鱼，但对中性选择黄鲈鱼表现出轻微的回避。不同物种的平均食用时间不同，北方梭子鱼的进食速度比麝香鱼更快。需要进一步的对照实验来揭示当这些捕食者消耗首选和非首选猎物时，生长和生存是否不同。在此期间，我们建议管理人员假定具有软射线、梭形、非底栖猎物鱼类的苗圃栖息地最有可能支持 0 龄麝香鱼和北梭子鱼的生长和生存。