Large pike connected littoral and pelagic food webs by changing diets through life
WHAT THE EVIDENCE SAYS
Sequential stable-isotope measurements from eye lenses of 17 large pike reconstructed lifetime resource use. Every fish showed a major littoral-to-pelagic dietary shift, but the timing and extent differed among individuals; median lifetime littoral reliance was 52.5%.
WHY IT MATTERS / OUR READ
Food-web coupling can be generated by ontogeny rather than by a species occupying the same trophic role throughout life. Population models that average individuals may hide when and how top predators move energy between habitats.
CAVEATS / UNCERTAINTY
The study is retrospective and based on 17 large pike from one lake. Eye-lens isotope trajectories infer resource pathways rather than directly tracking movement, and results should not be generalized to all pike populations or lake types.
SOURCE
Freshwater Biology
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EvidencePeer-reviewedGeographyLake Bourget, FranceSystemLarge lake littoral and pelagic food webs WHAT THE EVIDENCE SAYS Sequential stable-isotope measurements from eye lenses of 17 large pike reconstructed lifetime resource use. Every
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