What primary type of food do yabbies consume during the warmer summer months?
Fish, high in protein and fats
The diet of the yabby is highly opportunistic and demonstrates significant metabolic flexibility tied to seasonal availability, illustrating a dynamic internal economy. During the colder winter months or periods of scarcity, their diet generally shifts to consuming less energy-dense material such as plant matter and detritus to sustain basic maintenance metabolism. However, when environmental conditions are optimal, particularly during the warmer summer season, the yabby switches its feeding strategy to become primarily predatory. In this phase, they actively consume higher-value food sources, such as fish, which provide the concentrated proteins and fats necessary to fuel high-energy activities like aggressive competition, rapid growth, and potentially reproductive investment.
