Foods and Feeding Behavior of Sauger, 



Stizostedion canadense (Smith) (Pisces: Percidae), 



from GaUipoUs Locks and Dam, Ohio River 



Steven I. McBride and Donald Tarter 



Department of Biological Sciences, 

 Marshall University, Huntington, West Virginia 25701 



ABSTRACT. — The food habits of 151 sauger, Stizostedion canadense 

 (Smith), from the Ohio River at Gallipolis Locks and Dam, were stu- 

 died from March 1981 through April 1982. Seventy percent of the 

 stomachs contained food, which was analyzed for identification. Fishes 

 were the primary food, both by weight (99.7%) and frequency of 

 occurrence (100%). Emerald shiners, Notropis atherinoides Rafinesque, 

 and gizzard shad, Dorosoma cepedianum (Lesueur), comprised 96% of 

 all identifiable items. Emerald shiners were numerically and by weight 

 the most important item; they occurred in 49% of stomachs that con- 

 ^' tained food, and made up 32% of food biomass. Terrestrial and aquat- 

 ic invertebrates were of minor dietary importance. Seasonal variation 

 in sauger foods was minimal. Size had no influence on the kind of 

 food contained in the stomachs of adult sauger. Sauger appeared to 

 feed most intensively in the fall. Regression analysis showed a signifi- 

 cant negative correlation (r = -0.87) between sauger caught by anglers 

 and water temperature. 



INTRODUCTION 



The sauger, Stizostedion canadense (Smith), is an important sport 

 and commercial fish (Scott and Grossman 1973). Information on its 

 foods and feeding behavior are essential to our understanding of percid 

 communities and to the effective management of these resources. Sev- 

 eral investigators, including Forbes (1878, 1888) and Richardson (1920), 

 Pearse (1921), Dendy (1946), and Priegel (1969), provided brief notes on 

 sauger food habits, but only one detailed study was concerned with a 

 population in a riverine habitat (Vanicek 1964). Our study was initiated 

 in March 1981 and continued through April 1982. Its objectives were to 

 determine: (1) what foods are most important to the sauger population, 

 (2) if food habits varied with season, (3) if food habits changed as 

 sauger increased in size, and (4) how water temperature correlated with 

 sauger catch. 



METHODS AND MATERIALS 

 Study Area 



Gallipolis Locks and Dam is one in a series of flood and naviga- 

 tional control dams situated on the Ohio River. It is located at river 

 mile (RM) point 279.2 (38°40'53'', 82°ir22"), between Galia County, 



BrimleyanaNo.9:123-134. June 1983. 123 



