Comparative growth and diet of tench Tinca tinca (L.) larvae and juveniles from river floodplain biotopes in France and England

The growth and diet of larvae and 0 + juveniles of riverine tench Tinca tinca (L.) were compared in two stagnant floodplain biotopes from the upper River Rhône, France, and the River Great Ouse, England. The diet of tench was generally similar at the French and English sites, with Cladocera being the predominant prey of young larvae (English site only). Cladocera and Copepoda were the principal prey of older larvae and 0 + juveniles, though the latter took a variety of other, larger prey items. Ontogenetic changes in diet at both sites probably reflect prey availability. Protracted spawning at the French site contrasted a single spawning effort in the English backwater. Fluctuations in growth rate and condition were observed to coincide with shifts in diet, suggesting that tench developing in riverine biotopes may be vulnerable to competition at particular transitional intervals in their early ontogeny.