LIMITS TO GROWTH OF YOUNG-OF-THE-YEAR WALLEYE (STIZOSTEDION-VITREUM-VITREUM) - AN INDIVIDUAL-BASED MODEL PERSPECTIVE

Authored by Charles P Madenjian

Date Published: 1991

DOI: 10.1139/f91-177

Sponsors: United States National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) National Sea Grant College Program United States Department of Commerce (DOC)

Platforms: No platforms listed

Model Documentation: Other Narrative Flow charts

Model Code URLs: Model code not found

Abstract

An individual-based model (IBM) accurately described the variation in growth exhibited between young-of-the-year (YOY) walleye (Stizostedion vitreum vitreum) cohorts from Oneida Lake (New York) and western Lake Erie. The IBM was used to develop a general explanation for the wide variability in growth exhibited by YOY walleye. Length of growing season and encounter rate, lambda, between YOY walleye and the prey fish set the potential for growth in a particular aquatic system. Walleye spawning observations and observed YOY prey densities in Oneida Lake versus those for western Lake Erie corroborated these modeling results. Given a specific encounter rate and length of growing season, first-year growth of walleye was further controlled by size of prey fish relative to YOY walleye size, availability of prey fish throughout the summer and early fall months, and water temperature.

Tags

Yellow perch Western lake erie