Dl. Armstrong et al., Examining similarities and differences between congeners: Do larval gizzard shad and threadfin shad act as ecologically equivalent units?, T AM FISH S, 127(6), 1998, pp. 1006-1020
Although adult gizzard shad and threadfin shad differ both morphologically
and ecologically, their larvae appear quite similar, and myomere counts are
required to distinguish them. Because little previous work has distinguish
ed between the larvae of these species, little is known about how their lar
vae interact with each other or with other members of the aquatic community
. In two Alabama impoundments, larval gizzard shad appeared in the limnetic
zone before larval threadfin shad, after which they co-occurred for up to
6 weeks. The relationship between mouth gape and fish length was positive a
nd similar for both species. Diets of larvae in both lakes were similar bet
ween species, consisting primarily of small prey (i.e.. zooplankton eggs, r
otifers, and copepod nauplii) in eutrophic Weiss Lake and larger crustacean
zooplankton (calanoid and cyclopoid copepods, copepod nauplii, and Diaphan
osoma spp.) in mesotrophic Lake Martin. For both species, prey types became
more diverse with fish length, and individuals consistently selected prey
that were much smaller than their gape. Further, the mean size of zooplankt
on prey consumed by both species increased with fish length but was always
similar to or smaller than the average size in the lake. Individuals of bot
h species that were less than 18 mm total length (TL) positively selected t
he smallest and most abundant prey types, while larger shad (greater than o
r equal to 18 mm TL) typically exhibited neutral selection for most prey ty
pes. We conclude that larval gizzard shad and threadfin shad are similar re
lative to gape morphology and feeding ecology and that they probably have s
imilar effects on the aquatic community. However, between-species differenc
es in larval appearance in the Limnetic zone may alter the timing of the in
fluence of both species, as well as modify the outcome of interactions betw
een species.