Habitat Preferences and Food Habits of Young-of-the-Year Striped Bass, White Bass, and Yellow Bass in Watts Bar Reservoir, Tennessee

Abstract

Abstract Resource sharing among stocked striped bass (Morone saxatilis), young-of-the-year white bass (Morone chrysops), and yellow bass (Morone mississippiensis) in Watts Bar Reservoir, Tennessee, was evaluated by determining distribution patterns and prey utilization. Fish were collected in 1978 by electrofishing shoreline transects near seven sites where fingerling striped bass were stocked. Electrofishing catch rates generally were positively correlated among species but preferences for substrates were not consistently detected across sample periods. Although distribution patterns were similar, the three species appeared to utilize different sizes of prey. Striped bass consumed relatively big prey such as fish larvae and large invertebrates while yellow bass mainly ate zooplankton. White bass were opportunistic, eating fish and dipteran larvae when they were abundant but consuming smaller prey at other times. Ecological segregation of the basses by food size may affect the success of striped bass intr...