Lotic-dwelling Age-0 Smallmouth Bass As Both Resource Specialists and Generalists: Reconciling Disparate Literature Reports

Numerous published reports indicate that age-0 smallmouth bass are habitat and food specialists, while fewer report that age-0 smallmouth bass are generalists. We find it striking that within individual studies, age-0 smallmouth bass are frequently reported as specialists, yet among studies they often specialize on different types of habitat and prey. A review of the literature and our personal findings and observations indicate that age-0 smallmouth bass may have an exceptional ability to take advantage of food and habitat resources that may be under-utilized within a given system. We hypothesize that age-0 smallmouth bass have evolved as flexible resource users to increase their survival in naturally variable environments by minimizing interactions with other fishes. This flexibility would provide an important mechanism for the coexistence of smallmouth bass with other fishes, including other centrarchids, with which age-0 bass are potential competitors. We believe that developing...