Effect of Experience with Predators on the Behavior and Survival of Muskellunge and Tiger Muskellunge
David H. Wahl, Lisa M. Einfalt & Douglas B. Wojcieszaka
We've looked at a couple other studies previously involving the stocking of muskie and bass into the same waters. It seems that as a whole, the bass tend to do fairly well in those instances. This is an area of interest to bass anglers in Indiana, where more waters are being considered for muskie stockings in the future. The newest study comes from the journal, Transactions of the American Fisheries Society, Volume 141, Issue 1, published just this year.
In this particular study, they placed juvenile muskie as well as tiger muskie (4"-4.5" long) into various stocking scenarios (lab, pond, and field experiments) with 10"-12" largemouth bass in order to see if the young muskie developed an anti-predator response, as well as to determine a base level of consumption by the largemouth bass on smaller muskie in said scenarios.
While there was some change in the behavior of both muskie species after introduction, each turned out to be equally vulnerable to capture, with roughly 47% of all juveniles "stocked" consumed by the largemouth bass across experiment types. Similar studies have shown another cool water fish, the walleye, to fare a little better in these instances, and this is theorized to be related to behavior. Walleyes stay motionless, resting on the bottom in vegetation. Muskie also stayed low, but suspended somewhat off the bottom, and often reacted to an approaching bass by trying to flee. Studies show that largemouth bass focus on prey movement and often follow and attack such prey immediately upon encounter. In this study, a fleeing muskie was more likely to be eaten, or at least an attempt was made to, when this occurred. Bottom line is that largemouth bass, when firmly established in a body of water, tend to maintain a dominant position in many instances, and consumption of smaller predators is one such way of accomplishing this.
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