02-23-2015, 08:17 PM
[#0000FF]Your point #2 is a good point...perhaps even more important than predation. If there are limited food resources for the young Junies...due to competition with virtually all other species in Utah Lake...then it will be tougher for them to reach a size large enough to avoid predation.
Not unlike the common competition factor between chubs and rainbows. The chubs outcompete the small rainbows for food and the rainbows do not grow quickly or bulk up much.
Another good example is the gizzard shad in Willard. Gizzard shad vacuum up so much of the zooplankton and other bitty bites needed by crappies and other species that those other species have a lower recruitment rate. Even if the crappies have a good spawn a lot of their young die off early because of lack of food. And I suspect that the reason for a lower survival rate of the sac fry wipers planted by DWR is due to lack of invertebrate food during their early growth period.
Back to white bass, it is a fact Jack that they rely on zooplankton and other small stuff during much of the year...especially when there are no available fry of edible size on the menu. And since the June suckers also depend on that stuff there is going to be competition. If there is a greater biomass of white bass guess which species wins.
Poor Junies. The carp wipe out their preferred habitat, all the other species clean out their cupboards and then the predators dine on the survivors. I wouldn't wanna be one of them.
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Not unlike the common competition factor between chubs and rainbows. The chubs outcompete the small rainbows for food and the rainbows do not grow quickly or bulk up much.
Another good example is the gizzard shad in Willard. Gizzard shad vacuum up so much of the zooplankton and other bitty bites needed by crappies and other species that those other species have a lower recruitment rate. Even if the crappies have a good spawn a lot of their young die off early because of lack of food. And I suspect that the reason for a lower survival rate of the sac fry wipers planted by DWR is due to lack of invertebrate food during their early growth period.
Back to white bass, it is a fact Jack that they rely on zooplankton and other small stuff during much of the year...especially when there are no available fry of edible size on the menu. And since the June suckers also depend on that stuff there is going to be competition. If there is a greater biomass of white bass guess which species wins.
Poor Junies. The carp wipe out their preferred habitat, all the other species clean out their cupboards and then the predators dine on the survivors. I wouldn't wanna be one of them.
[/#0000FF]
[signature]