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A short review of pike ecology

  • INTERNATIONAL PIKE SYMPOSIUM
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Abstract

A brief review is provided in some advances in understanding the ecology of pike Esox lucius Linnaeus over the last 10 years. Based on long-term studies and manipulative, often short-term experiments (laboratory, field and mesocosms) several established theories have been supported, as well as new concepts developed. Despite their wide distribution pike show low levels of polymorphism and divergence indicative of a recent common ancestral population. Recent genetic studies, however, indicate a single refugium in North America compared to several refugia in Europe. Pike are found in rivers, lakes and weakly saline waters. Variables such as growth and mortality are mainly affected by factors such as temperature, water transparency, productivity, availability of prey and density of pike and other predators. In choice of habitat pike have been shown to support the ideal free-distribution theory. The importance of macrophyte habitat in the life history of pike has been reconfirmed and pike have been shown to be flexible in response to water clarity. Pike are extremely ‘plastic’ in choice of prey types, prey size and in response to prey behaviour (e.g. they are unaffected by shoal size). Predation by pike not only affects abundance and biomass of prey (including younger and smaller pike through cannibalism which plays a major role in population dynamics, other fishes and invertebrates) but also evolution and adaptation of their morphology (in particular body shape) and behaviours. There appears to be no relationship between stock and recruitment. Recruitment is influenced by several abiotic factors in lakes and rivers. Pike play a major role in structuring freshwater communities and have been used in stocking programmes to improve water quality (biomanipulation). Many new concepts have been developed in pike behaviour in maximizing these stocking programmes both in biomanipulation and fisheries management. Despite many recent advances in understanding the ecology of pike, particularly at the individual level, developments in quantifying and modelling the role of pike as a top predator in large ecosystems have been limited, probably due to the difficulties of sampling natural populations.

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Acknowledgements

I am grateful to several referees for their comments. J. M. Casselman very kindly pointed out important, mainly North American, studies on pike. I thank J. M. Farrell for inviting me to the Pike Symposium and providing support for me at Lake Placid. I also thank the American Fisheries Society for providing travel funds.

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  1. Whiteside, Dunscore, Dumfries, DG2 0UU, Scotland, UK

    J. F. Craig

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  1. J. F. Craig
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Guest editors: J. M. Farrell, C. Skov, M. Mingelbier, T. Margenau & J. E. Cooper

International Pike Symposium: Merging Knowledge of Ecology, Biology, and Management for a Circumpolar Species

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Craig, J.F. A short review of pike ecology. Hydrobiologia 601, 5–16 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10750-007-9262-3

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