Diet and feeding strategy of northern pike (Esox lucius L., 1758) inhabiting a deep dam lake in Central Anatolia, Türkiye
   
Yazarlar (4)
Prof. Dr. Okan YAZICIOĞLU Kırşehir Ahi Evran Üniversitesi, Türkiye
Doç. Dr. Ramazan YAZICI Kırşehir Ahi Evran Üniversitesi, Türkiye
Abdülkadir Yağcı Sheep Breeding Res Inst, Türkiye
Prof. Dr. Mahmut YILMAZ Kırşehir Ahi Evran Üniversitesi, Türkiye
Makale Türü Açık Erişim Özgün Makale (SCOPUS dergilerinde yayınlanan tam makale)
Dergi Adı Revista Colombiana De Obstetricia Y Ginecologia
Dergi ISSN 0034-7434 Scopus Dergi
Dergi Tarandığı Indeksler SCI-Expanded
Makale Dili Türkçe Basım Tarihi 09-2025
Cilt / Sayı / Sayfa 76 / 3 / 92–103 DOI 10.3409/fb_73-3.10
Makale Linki https://doi.org/10.3409/fb_73-3.10
Özet
The aim of this study was to evaluate the seasonal diet composition and feeding strategies of northern pike (Esox lucius) located in Sıddıklı Küçükboğaz Dam Lake (Kırşehir, Türkiye). Monthly sampling from September 2015
to August 2016 resulted in the collection of 133 northern pike individuals, with their total lengths ranging from 23.4 to 86.6 cm (mean length 53.84 ± 10.51 cm). Stomach content analyses and statistical tests, including a Kruskal-Wallis analysis, were employed to assess the seasonal
variation in feeding intensity. Although numerical differences in the feeding intensity were observed, with the highest values recorded in summer (FI = 1.59) and the lowest in winter (FI = 0.51), these differences were not statistically significant (K-W test, p < 0.05). Among
the physicochemical parameters of the surface water, temperature emerged as the primary environmental factor influencing the feeding patterns, based on the results of a Spearman's rank correlation. The northern pike exhibited an exclusively piscivorous diet, primarily consuming Tinca
tinca (44.83% by number and 56.16% by frequency of occurrence) as well as Atherina boyeri. Despite the availability of multiple prey species within the habitat, the northern pike demonstrated a strong prey specialisation toward these two fish species throughout the year. The
observed consistency in this dietary preference underscores the species' role as a specialised top predator and provides critical ecological insights for the management and conservation of similar freshwater reservoir ecosystems.
Anahtar Kelimeler
prey preference | feeding features | food items | predator fish | S & imath;dd & imath;kl & imath; K & Uuml;& ccedil;& Uuml;kbo & gbreve;az Dam Lake