Revision as of 23:23, 5 March 2014

Fish Predation

Energy vs. Cost
Search → Encounter → Strike → Capture
Factors Affecting Search:
- For Predator: Hunger
- For Prey: Camouflage
Factors Affecting Encounter
- For Predator: Swimming Speed, water clarity, illumination, schooling, detection mechanisms
- For Prey: morphology, activity level, pigmentation, distribution
Factors Affecting Strike
- For Predator: alternative prey, location
- For Prey: body size, sensory ability
Factors Affecting Capture
- For Predator: mouth gape, strike speed, handling
- For Prey: escape capabilities, schooling, shelter seeking behavior^[1]

Size is the most important factor in determining predation rates
- ex: There is a decreasing rate of predation with Jellyfish as fish larvae size increases.
Predation happens at all sizes
- Ex: microscopic organisms to large whales
Highest rates of predation occur on juvenile fish.
Predation is most common during life transitions.
- Ex: after fish larvae hatch^[2]
Most are active either during the day or at night, not 24 hours
Diurnal or nocturnal feeding is normally fixed genetically

↑ K.M. Bailey, JT. Duffy Anderson. 2001. Fish Predation and Mortality. Encyclopedia of Ocean Sciences (Second Edition). Pages 417-421.
↑ Hixon, Mark A. 1991. Predation as a Process Structuring Coral Reef Communities.Oregon State University Publishing. http://hixon.science.oregonstate.edu/files/hixon/publications/026%20-%20Hixon%2091%20Sale%20book.pdf

Cite error: <ref> tag with name "Houlihan" defined in <references> is not used in prior text.

@@ Line 51: / Line 51: @@
 <ref name="Hixon">Hixon, Mark A. 1991. Predation as a Process Structuring Coral Reef Communities.Oregon State University Publishing.
 http://hixon.science.oregonstate.edu/files/hixon/publications/026%20-%20Hixon%2091%20Sale%20book.pdf </ref>
+<ref name="Houlihan">Houlihan, Dominic. 2001. Food Intake in Fish. Blackwell Science. Pages 189-209.</ref>
 </references>