Diet Data from the Western Basin of Lake Erie Examining White and Yellow Perch, 2012-2016

A fish’s diet is the integrated response of multiple ecological interactions including habitat use, foraging behavior, prey community characteristics, and inter-specific interactions. Fish diet samples have quantified how the invasion of white perch into Lake Erie in the early 1950s has influenced interactions with native yellow perch, which are similar in morphology and habitat use. Early research largely concluded that given the high foraging efficiency of white perch there is both high potential for inter-specific competition and that the invasion of white perch has negatively affected yellow perch. As part of a biannual (spring and autumn) Lake Erie Western Basin Forage Fish Assessment, the USGS Lake Erie Biological Station collected and analyzed diets of age-2-and-older yellow perch and white perch from 2012-2016 to assess possible inter-specific ecological interactions. Information collected from the diets (presence/absence of prey and dry weight of prey (g)) and effort data (coordinates of fish capture) have been uploaded. Information on how fish were captured and how diets were processed can be found in the meta data document provided.