Diel Movement Patterns of Yellow Perch in a Simple and a Complex Lake Basin

Abstract

AbstractTo investigate the influence habitat may have on fish movement, we tagged two length‐groups of adult yellow perch Perca flavescens with ultrasonic transmitters to determine diel movement patterns in two glacial lakes with differing basin morphometries and habitat characteristics. In both lakes, movement rates increased from dawn to the diurnal period, and decreased from dusk to the nocturnal period, with lowest activity in the nocturnal period. Overall, mean period movement rates for yellow perch were higher in the simple lake than in the complex lake. Offshore movement from the nocturnal to the dawn period and onshore movement from the diurnal to the nocturnal period was evident in both length‐groups in the complex lake, but not evident in the simple lake. Size segregation was apparent in the complex lake, where the small length‐group was located farther from shore than the large length‐group. Yellow perch in the simple lake most often used the deepest depths, whereas yellow perch in the complex lake used moderate depths. These results suggest that habitat characteristics and the complexity of a lake basin may have an influence on behavior and habitat use. With this insight into the movement patterns of yellow perch in two distinct types of lake basins, managers may consider refining sampling plans for individual lake types.