Diet and feeding strategies of redbreast sunfish (Lepomis auritus) and bluegill sunfish (Lepomis macrochirus ) in two suburban lakes

This is a study of the feeding habits of two species of sunfish, Lepomis auritus (Linnaeus, 1758), redbreast sunfish, and Lepomis macrochirus Rafinesque, 1819, bluegill sunfish, co-occurring in two suburban lakes with different degrees of shoreline development. Since it has been well-documented that other animal species change their dietary habits during or just prior to breeding season, it seemed sensible to determine if sunfish also exhibited this behavior. The two study lakes are close in proximity in Putnam County, New York. Lake Mahopac is a more urbanized setting, close to road traffic, surrounded by homes, and has little to no vegetation due to the introduction of grass carp. Long Pond is in a more pristine setting with one side being entirely wooded. It is not close to any main roads and there are few houses on the perimeter. The vegetation is for the most part undisturbed except for a small amount removed from its beach areas. Despite the lack of vegetation, Lake Mahopac still has as much species diversity as Long Pond. Unfortunately the bluegill population in Lake Mahopac has suffered from the lack of weed beds, which are necessary for successful breeding, which has resulted in a steady decline in numbers.;The redbreast sunfish population in Long Pond is very small, most likely due to the fact that redbreast sunfish prefer moving water and Long Pond is relatively stagnant.;Breeding season usually starts in May and ends in August; the exact time changes from year to year based upon weather conditions. Female bluegills from Lake Mahopac exhibited a dietary shift in which they fed opportunistically during the pre-breeding season (when water temperature is below 20° C), but shifted to that of a specialist during the breeding period (when water temperature is between 20° C to 28°C) and post-breeding (when water temperature once again begins to cool). When water temperature falls below 20° C in the fall, sunfish move to deeper waters until the following spring when the water once again warms up and they move to the shoreline to breed. There is some dietary overlap between the species, especially between females during pre-breeding, as well as between male and female redbreast sunfish from Lake Mahopac and male and female bluegills from Long Pond, indicating that if food sources become scarce they could develop both interspecific competition between females and intraspecific competition between the sexes in each lake.