Selectivity of Pikeperch Larvae (Percidae, Perciformes) Feeding on Lake Zooplankton under Culture Conditions

The study was conducted on the feeding selectivity of larvae of pikeperch (Linnaeus, 1758) in early ontogenesis (from 3 to 21 days after hatching) under culture conditions when feeding zooplankton from Lake Sukhodolskoye, the natural habitat of pikeperch. The basis of pikeperch larvae feeding during the first 15 days was the cladocerans (O.F. Müller, 1776) and (Linnaeus, 1758) (up to 80–100% of food items in the food bolus) — the most common species in the lake (92.92–99.57% of the number of zooplankters). At the initial stages of the life of pikeperch larvae, the proportion of food items available in size for their feeding reached 8.7%. The proportion of zooplankters favored by larvae for feeding was also low (18%). This appeared to have a negative impact on juvenile survival (~30% in the first week and 3.6% at the end of the study), as well as significant variability in larval size (coefficient of variation in juvenile mass 72%) and cannibalism.