Analysis of home range in Northern Pike (Esox lucius)

Gahr, Carolyn
2011-02-03
Thumbnail Image

View/Download File

Gahr.pdf (4.74 MB)

Persistent link to this item

https://hdl.handle.net/11299/99660
Statistics
View Statistics

Journal Title

Journal ISSN

Volume Title

Title

Analysis of home range in Northern Pike (Esox lucius)

Authors

Published Date

2011-02-03

Publisher

Type

Scholarly Text or Essay

Abstract

Northern pike (Esox lucius) are a freshwater predator that obtains their prey via ambushing. Studies have found that the activity of pike is correlated to their size such that larger pike move farther and faster (Eklov 1992). However, compared to other predatory fish pike move less frequently and are independent hunters (Eklov 1992). Pike are most commonly found in shallower water and prefer vegetation for cover in order to ambush their prey. In particular, larger pike have been shown to prefer shallower water closer to shore than the smaller pike (Jespen et al. 2001). In addition, pike have been found to be most active in low light conditions, especially around dusk and dawn, although some studies indicated no variation in activity over the 24 hour day (Jespen et al. 2001). This study focused on determining the home range and territory of northern pike in Lake Itasca over a two week time frame. The home range of an animal is the area that is used in the course of normal activities which contains sufficient resources to survive and reproduce. In addition to determining the home range, the territory, or the region which the animal defends, was also measured by looking at where the pike spent the most amount of time. Some factors focused on were the correlation between pike size, area of the home range, and the depth of the water. We hypothesized that larger pike would inhabit shallower water and have a larger home range than smaller pike.

Keywords

Description

Student paper, EEB 4825, 2010

Related to

Replaces

License

Collections

Student Papers

Series/Report Number

Itasca Biological Station Student Papers

Funding information

Isbn identifier

Doi identifier

Previously Published Citation

Other identifiers

Suggested citation

Gahr, Carolyn. (2011). Analysis of home range in Northern Pike (Esox lucius). Retrieved from the University Digital Conservancy, https://hdl.handle.net/11299/99660.

Content distributed via the University Digital Conservancy may be subject to additional license and use restrictions applied by the depositor. By using these files, users agree to the Terms of Use. Materials in the UDC may contain content that is disturbing and/or harmful. For more information, please see our statement on harmful content in digital repositories.