What specialized diet defines juvenile White Crappie, facilitated by long, fine gill rakers?
Answer
Zooplankton, specifically copepods and cladocerans
The White Crappie exhibits a crucial trophic shift throughout its life stages to maximize resource acquisition. In its juvenile phase, the fish functions primarily as a planktivore. This feeding strategy involves efficiently straining microscopic zooplankton, such as copepods and cladocerans, from the water column. This adaptation is highly successful for dense populations of young fish because zooplankton is a plentiful food source that is often too small to be effectively targeted by larger predators. The morphology supports this diet, as juveniles possess long and fine gill rakers perfectly structured for filtering these small organisms.
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