2020/05/20 by Forrest Bjornson, Madison L. Earhart, W. Gary Anderson · 1 voice
Agricultural and Biological Sciences · Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology · Environmental Science · #Animal Behavior and Reproduction #Fish Ecology and Management Studies #Reproductive biology and impacts on aquatic species
paper · doi:10.1139/cjz-2019-0181
openalex publication_date 2020/05/20 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/02
Balancing foraging opportunities with predation risk can promote complex behavioural strategies in juvenile fishes, particularly in northern temperate environments with short growing seasons. To test how predation experience may influence foraging effort and risk assessment of juvenile lake sturgeon (Acipenser fulvescens Rafinesque, 1817), flight response and substrate preference behavioural measurements were taken during critical life periods of early exogenous feeding (∼60 days post fertilization (dpf)) and pre-winter (∼160 dpf). Lake sturgeon were placed in arenas with partial cover and exposed white plastic bottom. Chemical alarm cue (AC) was introduced to predator naïve individuals in the presence or absence of food over the exposed portion of the arena to simulate risk sensitive foraging over diurnal and seasonal periods. The same protocol was run on predator-experienced individuals, which were classically conditioned to predator cue (PC) prior to the trials. Whole-body cortisol measures were also taken to determine the physiological response to predation experience. Results suggest a propensity to forage in spite of predation risk during the naïve ∼60 dpf trials and highlight context-specific anti-predator responses of naïve and experienced lake sturgeon. Elevated basal whole-body cortisol levels and reduced body condition (p < 0.05) were observed with increased predator experience.