Abstract
Laboratory observations of 20 similar-size sib fry of pike Esox lucius have been carried out. The fishes were kept from June to September in a single aquarium with abundant food. During their life in a limited space, a temporal community formed with a size structure taking the form typical of a hierarchy: five leaders, two outsiders, and eight individuals in an intermediate position. The growth leaders were five cannibal pikes, each having eaten a sib with slower growth—the capture of large prey contributed to a considerable increase in the eater’s growth rate. The effect of hierarchy manifested itself in the mutual influence of pikes onto one another: the presence of large predators hampered the growth of small individuals, while the presence of slowly growing fishes stimulated the growth of leaders.
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