THE ANIMAL FILES

Yellow perch

Perca flavescens

A striped fish changes its menu as it grows.

Yellow perch are recognized through their barred flanks and two dorsal fins.[1]

Follow the evidence ↓
Yellow perch
Image: Robert Colletta · Commons · Public domain
Two dorsal fins
A spiny front fin and softer rear rays[1]
Near the margins
Lakes and slower-moving waters[1]
Food at different sizes
Plankton early, larger prey later[1]

Two dorsal fins

The front dorsal fin has hard spines. The second has softer rays behind its leading spines, and vertical bars cross the yellowish flanks.[1]

Near the margins

Yellow perch use lake margins, slower rivers, ponds and wetlands. Some populations also occupy brackish water.[1]

Food at different sizes

Larvae and small fry use zooplankton, while growing fish move toward larger invertebrates and other prey. Older individuals can take small fish.[1]

A COMMON MIX-UP

Does every yellow perch look equally yellow?

No. Colour varies and juveniles are often paler. Bars and fin structure provide additional features to compare.[1]

TRY A LITTLE REASONING

Why could juvenile and adult surveys reveal different feeding links?

Reveal the explanation

They sample different stages of a changing diet. Linking fish to food requires both species identity and information about size or development.[1]

Sources & editorial notes

Adapted and translated from the cited Wikipedia revisions, with source-linked reasoning. Image credit and licence are listed separately above.

Adapted and translated from Wikipedia contributors; exact revisions are linked below. CC BY-SA 4.0

  1. Wikipedia contributors — Yellow perch (cited revision)
  2. NCBI Taxonomy — Perca flavescens

Last fact check:

One discovery leads to another

European perchStriped sides, a changing menu and a ribbon of eggs.Perca fluviatilis ↗Allmouth goosefishThe fishing rod is part of the fish.Lophius piscatorius ↗GuppyColour can attract a mate and catch a predator’s eye.Poecilia reticulata ↗