Our objective was to quantify the contribution of autochthonous, locally-produced phytoplankton, and allochthonous, terrestrial-derived organic matter (OM) to the production of young-of-year (YOY) American shad (Alosa sapidissima) using stable isotopes. We measured the carbon and nitrogen stable isotope composition of YOY American shad in the tidal fresh water of the Mattaponi River, a tributar...

Small pelagics, or forage fish, link lower and higher trophic levels in marine food webs. Recently, attention has been given to the management of including anadromous river herring (Alewife Alosa pseudoharengus, blueback A. aestivalis) American shad (A. sapidissima) due their current depleted status historically important ecological economic roles. Little is known about impact changes biomass o...

The Laurentian Great Lakes are large dynamic aquatic ecosystems with a diversity of available habitats and associated fish communities. The increasing prevalence of invasive species has influenced habitat associations of native species and altered trophic relationships throughout the food webs. We sought to identify habitat and biotic relationships associated with common nearshore fish abundanc...

Although predation by non-native alewife (Alosa pseudoharengus) on lake trout fry (Salvelinus namaycush) has been documented, whether or not emergent lake trout fry innately recognize alewives as predators is unknown. This study investigated the behavior of post-emergent, free-swimming lake trout fry in the presence of alewives. Study objectives were to determine (1) if fry respond to the prese...

Question: It is well established that predators can influence the structure and dynamics of prey communities and that changes in prey communities can drive predator evolution. Here we ask whether changes in prey communities, brought on by the effects of predators, can feed back to mould the evolution of predator foraging traits. Study system: We sampled lakes in Connecticut (USA) containing eit...

The timing of life history events in many plants and animals depends on the seasonal fluctuations specific environmental conditions. Climate change is altering regimes disrupting natural cycles patterns across communities. Anadromous fishes that migrate between marine freshwater habitats to spawn are particularly sensitive shifting conditions thus vulnerable effects climate change. However, for...

In a mesocosm experiment, we tested whether larval fish show an active behavioural response to hydrodynamic impacts. Exposing I to 3 week old allis shad (Alosa alosa) larvae to a pulsed wave regime, we found that already I week old larvae immediately adapt their microhabitat use and activity patterns at the onset of the wave pulses. The fish larvae in stantaneously increased their activity leve...