Environmental and Water Quality Operational Studies. Prey Selection and Feeding Patterns of Fish in a Southern United States Hydropower Tailwater

摘要

The downstream effects of peaking hydropower generation at Lake Hartwell Georgia-South Carolina, on the diel prey selection and feeding of four species of fish-silver redhorse (Moxostoma anisurum), redbreast sunfish (Lepomis auritus), green sunfish (L. cyanellus), and bluegill (L. macrochirus)--were determined. Aquatic insects (primarily dipterans, ephemeropterans, and trichopterans), crayfish, and terrestrial organisms (primarily insects) composed most of the food eaten. These fish fed primarily during daylight, before daily hydropower generation began, and little or no feeding occurred during generation. Consequently, few organisms entrained from the reservoir or displaced from the tailwater during hydropower generation were eaten by these fish. (Author)