Abstract
Salinity preferences of juvenile bluegill (Lepomis macrochirus) from a freshwater pond in north-eastern Mississippi and a brackish bayou in coastal Mississippi held at 0‰ were tested at 26.5±1.0°C in salinity-gradient chambers (0, 2, 4, 6, 8, and 10‰) under a 12L∶12D photoperiod cycle. Juvenile bluegill from both sites did not show any statistically significant preference for any of the salinity options and were not significantly different from controls. These data suggest that juvenile bluegill from either locale fail to show any differential short-term (1.5 h) behavioral effects that might influence their perception and use of saline habitats. These data and data from previous studies suggest that bluegill are better able to physiologically and behaviorally tolerate elevated salinity relative to other centrarchids, particularlyMicropterus spp.
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Peterson, M.S., Musselman, N.J., Francis, J. et al. Lack of salinity selection by freshwater and brackish populations of juvenile bluegill,Lepomis macrochirus rafinesque. Wetlands 13, 194–199 (1993). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03160880
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03160880