Interactions With Other Species
Pike are excellent predators but like every organism
there is something that feeds on it. Pike fall prey to several
organisms, especially when beginning out life. As Eggs and small
pike they serve as a food source for other fish, aquatic insect
larvae, birds, mammals. Once pike get bigger they out grow some
of their predators, but are still vulnerable to some. Adult pike
are eaten by larger birds like a bald eagle and mammals such as
bears.
To avoid these predators, the Esox lucius has
learned to blend into its environment, but no sort of camouflage
can save them from parasites. Pike at times can be very
vulnerable to parasites and can become heavily infected with
them. One parasite that pike can become infected with is the
broad tapeworm which is bad for us, because if not cooked
thoroughly can infect humans. Pike also can be infected by trematodes that cause cysts to form on the skin of the pike.
Besides being the main host for the above parasites, pike also
serves as an intermediate host for the cestode parasite which
goes on to infect lake whitefish.
Though pike have skilled predators, the one that is probably
the most dangerous is....... people. Pike are a sought after
game fish throughout its distribution around the Earth.
Because pike are a wonderful fish to catch and people do not
want them to become endangered some countries such as Canada has
strict regulations on the fish and make sure most are caught and
released. Another bonus for us is that people find pike to be a
tasty dinner and in eastern Europe pike is even a commercial
food, bon appetit.
If you want to read more about animals that interact with
pike, I suggest checking out the following websites from my
class mates. To learn more about bald eagles,
http://bioweb.uwlax.edu/bio203/s2007/taylor%5Fandr/. To
learn about the polar bear,
http://bioweb.uwlax.edu/bio203/s2007/kolinski%5Falis/. For
more about tapeworms,
http://bioweb.uwlax.edu/bio203/s2008/geske%5Frich/.
Website created Spring 2008 by Brian Haslag