FLEAS & FORAGE

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tamiron
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FLEAS & FORAGE

Post by tamiron »

Does anyone know if forage fish eat fleas?
Can the quantity vary in inverse relationship to each other??
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Captain Paul
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Re: FLEAS & FORAGE

Post by Captain Paul »

Yellow Perch eat fleas
septageguy
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Re: FLEAS & FORAGE

Post by septageguy »

Lake Champlain may not be in as much trouble......as long as there are lots of Perch, Sunfish and Bass to eat them.....

"The self-sustaining populations of the spiny water flea, an invasive species, suggest a greater problem in the Great Lakes, according to researchers.

“They reflect a disruptive food web in the Great Lakes,” said Steven Pothoven, a research biologist stationed in Muskegon, Mich., for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Despite its misleading name, the spiny water flea is a crustacean rather than an insect. Its diet consists mostly of zooplankton. Small fish can’t eat the spiny water flea because of its long, barbed tail spine, but larger species of fish such as an adult paddlefish can do so.

In some of the Great Lakes, the invaders are the dominant predators. That’s a problem because they can eat the same food that small and young native fish eat.

Pothoven said it’s extremely hard for spiny water fleas to establish themselves in a healthy fish community because larger fish will eat them. That means bodies of water in which the spiny water flea thrives must already have problems, he said.

Recreational boaters are inadvertently moving spiny water fleas to inland lakes where they may have a larger impact on those small ecosystems, Pothoven said.

The population of spiny water fleas in the Great Lakes hasn’t caused great ecological collapses in the lakes, Pothoven explained, but when combined with other problems in the area, there can be “cascading effects” yet to be seen by researchers."
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tamiron
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Re: FLEAS & FORAGE

Post by tamiron »

septageguy;

Thanks for the data!
"Small fish can’t eat the spiny water flea because of its long, barbed tail spine, but larger species of fish such as an adult paddlefish can do so."
I never realized that they were big enough that an adult smelt or alewife couldn't eat them! That's really interesting ... and unfortunate.
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jimbow
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Re: FLEAS & FORAGE

Post by jimbow »

septageguy wrote:Lake Champlain may not be in as much trouble......as long as there are lots of Perch, Sunfish and Bass to eat them.....

"The self-sustaining populations of the spiny water flea, an invasive species, suggest a greater problem in the Great Lakes, according to researchers.

“They reflect a disruptive food web in the Great Lakes,” said Steven Pothoven, a research biologist stationed in Muskegon, Mich., for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

In some of the Great Lakes, the invaders are the dominant predators. That’s a problem because they can eat the same food that small and young native fish eat.

The population of spiny water fleas in the Great Lakes hasn’t caused great ecological collapses in the lakes, Pothoven explained, but when combined with other problems in the area, there can be “cascading effects” yet to be seen by researchers."
If that Data is correct, I believe that the reason they (fleas) as so prolific in the Great Lakes is the deep water they are found in, not a lack of flea predators. :idea: Again, The Great Lakes have a good population of Flea predators if this data is correct. However, they (fleas) can and do live in water well over 600' , hence the need to use 30 lb test line while trolling for salmon. :evil: This is to deep for fish like perch and so forth to live on any regular basis, allowing them to live without the "usual" predators to bothering them. Champlain is lucky to an abundance of both Yellow and White perch which we all know are found in water over 100' ( found them dragging on many lines without tripping releases :roll: ) which may be the reason they (Perch) were there and there were less fleas this year.... :|
septageguy
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Re: FLEAS & FORAGE

Post by septageguy »

Here is the complete article:

http://greatlakesecho.org/2014/10/17/sp ... r-problem/

No gloom and doom in the short term .....

http://www.outdoorcanada.ca/Icing-Spiny ... Flea-Perch

......but the elimination of the zoo plankton for the small fish can screw up a lake. But, not always!

http://www.grandforksherald.com/news/ou ... -discovery
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keithm87
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Re: FLEAS & FORAGE

Post by keithm87 »

Has anyone encountered a flea this year on Champ? I had one last summer in June, but that was the last one I encountered. Seems odd that 2016 had a big number for about a month, and then nothing the last 2 years. Maybe Champ finally beat an invasive...
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Cas
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Re: FLEAS & FORAGE

Post by Cas »

I agree with Keith in that is most likely due to the presence of Champ. Studies on Champ are largely inconclusive, but scientists agree that the most likely cause for that is Champ's ability to survive in the deeper water. Jimbow's post states that the fleas can endure the deeper water as well, away from their natural predators. However logic proves that it if both Champ and the fleas can flourish in the deeper water, it would be Champ that would triumph over the fleas in those conditions.
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jimbow
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Re: FLEAS & FORAGE

Post by jimbow »

keithm87 wrote:Has anyone encountered a flea this year on Champ? I had one last summer in June, but that was the last one I encountered. Seems odd that 2016 had a big number for about a month, and then nothing the last 2 years. Maybe Champ finally beat an invasive...

Keith, if you read my previous post on the subject you will understand the problem...They are still there, I found them two weeks ago, but they are temp sensitive and seek conditions they prefer. The perch and panfish do eat them but they can hide in deep water to evade those predators. I doubt if will ever rid them completely.
FishnChef
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Re: FLEAS & FORAGE

Post by FishnChef »

I encountered fleas out of willsboro once in 2016, not even that bad and I have not seen any since. When I used to live on Lake Ontario they were everywhere every trip once they showed up for the season
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Captain Paul
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Re: FLEAS & FORAGE

Post by Captain Paul »

The Fleas have been pretty bad the last couple of days around Shelburne point I started seeing a few of them about 2 weeks ago but nowhere near the amount there where 3 seasons ago
troutcrazy
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Re: FLEAS & FORAGE

Post by troutcrazy »

I had gobs of them a few days ago, Snake Den to Westport.
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Bearcat
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Re: FLEAS & FORAGE

Post by Bearcat »

Had a few on the lines last weekend out of Westport
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raz
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Re: FLEAS & FORAGE

Post by raz »

Cas wrote:I agree with Keith in that is most likely due to the presence of Champ. Studies on Champ are largely inconclusive, but scientists agree that the most likely cause for that is Champ's ability to survive in the deeper water. Jimbow's post states that the fleas can endure the deeper water as well, away from their natural predators. However logic proves that it if both Champ and the fleas can flourish in the deeper water, it would be Champ that would triumph over the fleas in those conditions.
We're gonna need grants to study this.
Catch and serve with lemon.
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