Blog: Salmon with a side of lamprey – Non-native basses primarily eat native fishes in California’s Stanislaus River
Salmon face many perils during their migration to the ocean, including disease, entrainment, degraded water quality, and predation. However, predation has been the factor that has generated the most interest and debate. FISHBIO has been conducting a research program focused on fish species that prey on other fish in the Stanislaus River to understand how predatory fishes may affect juvenile salmon migration. … The most frequently encountered predators were the non-native striped bass (Morone saxatilis) and black bass (multiple species in the genus Micropterus), and the native Sacramento pikeminnow (Ptychocheilus grandis). Analysis of their diet contents revealed that the non-native basses consumed native fish species such as fall-run Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) and Pacific lamprey (Entosphenus tridentatus) at significantly higher frequencies than native predators …