A. ZAIKOV, T. HUBENOVA, G. GROZEV and P. VASILEVA
Institute of Fisheries and Aquaculture, Varna, Branch Plovdiv, BG-4003 Plovdiv, Bulgaria
ZAIKOV, A., T. HUBENOVA, G. GROZEV and P. VASILEVA, 2006. Prey selectivity in one-summer-old pike (E. lucius L.). Bulg. J. Agric. Sci., 12: 195-202
The aim of the present study was to determine the prey selectivity index in one-summer-old pike (Esox lucius L). The experiment was carried out under laboratory conditions for 15 days in 12 tanks, each of them stocked with 4 individuals of Cyprinus carpio, Carasius carassius, Pseudorasbora parva and Lepomis gibbosus as prey. As a result of the experiment it was found a positive selectivity index for Pseudorasbora parva (+0.1838) and clearly pronounced negative index (-0.5380) for Lepomis gibbosus. The study shows that pike prefers to eat shallow-bodied, smaller and soft-rayed fish over deep-bodied, larger and spined prey.