Powerful Pike
INTRODUCTION
Watch Ranger Jessica introduce the Northern Pike Fish
I Wonder...
What are the different stages of the Northern Pike life cycle?
What are the many challenges, or limiting factors, that pike need to overcome make it to adulthood?
Vocabulary
Drop-down list of words related to the Northern Pike life cycle.
Life Cycle - an organism's progression through a series of developmental stages from fertilized egg to reproduction
Limiting Factor - A condition affecting the survival of an organism or population
Migration - Annual or seasonal movement of an organism from one habitat to another
Reproduce/Reproduction - the process that produces babies, young animals, or new plants (can be sexual or asexual)
Sac Fry - newly hatched fish that are usually attached to plants or rocks
Nutrients - a substance essential to an organism's healthy growth and survival
Swim-up Fry - a stage in a fish's life cycle, directly after sac fry, defined by its new ability to swim freely
Fingerling - a stage in a fish's life cycle, directly after swim up fry, when it reaches about 4 inches long.
Play the Powerful Pike word search puzzle!
LEARN IT!
What makes Northern Pike so powerful?
SLIDES: The Powerful Pike
Learn how Pike are such powerful predators! Read instructions and click on the red 'Next' arrows to advance slides for best results. You can also expand to a larger screen.
Click on the Pike picture below to take a quick reading journey through the life of a pike!
Source: Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR), Young Naturalists Series
WATCH: A Pike's Life
See Northern Pike in their natural environment! Click on white arrow to play video.
Source: John Touscany - Things I See Underwater
WATCH: Fish
Learn about both freshwater and ocean fish, and how they live and survive. Click on white arrow to play video.
Source: Happy Learning
DO IT!
Show what you know about fish life cycles and what it takes to survive as a Northern Pike!
PLAY: Run for Your Life Cycle Game
Can you survive?! Follow instructions and use the 'Next Page' arrows for best results (avoid using the slide arrows at the bottom center of the screen). You can open in a new window by clicking on the four-arrow expansion icon in the lower-right of the slide deck.
Adapted from Minnesota DNR MinnAqua Program Leader's Guide - Fishing: Get in the Habitat!
ACTIVITY: Draw a Fish Life Cycle
Watch the video and draw the life cycle of a fish! Click on white arrows to start videos.
Note: Both videos show how to draw a fish cycle. Choose based on the mood of the music! Take your time and stop the video when needed.
KNOW IT!
Take this quick self-assessment to see what you know about life cycles and pike!
Questions
Try to answer each question, then click its drop-down menu to see the correct answer.
True or False: Most pike eggs hatch and make it to adulthood.
A. True
B. False
Answer: B, False
Adult pike lay 50,000 eggs and only about 1% of these 50,000 will become adult pike! This is because pike eggs and young pike are preyed upon by many predators including crayfish, frogs, birds, and other fish including other pike!
Which one of the choices below is NOT a common food source for adult pike?
A. Ducklings
B. Mussels
C. Juvenile pike
D. Frogs
Answer: B, Mussels
Northern pike are carnivorous and aggressive hunters and commonly eat other fish (including other pike), ducklings, frogs, crayfish, insects, and invertebrates including leeches and insect larvae. Pike are ambush predators and use their keen eyesight and agile bodies to track swimming prey in the water and capture it quickly. Since mussels are sedentary they do not typically catch the eye of a pike on the prowl.
List one limiting factor that can affect how many pike make it to adulthood.
Answer: There are many possible answers for this- a limiting factor is any challenge to survival which can be caused by biotic or abiotic factors.
Possible limiting factors for pike include: 1) Your egg falls from the safety of the aquatic plant it was attached to and is now an easy food source on the river bottom 2) Once hatched, you are very small and a very slow swimmer and an easy target for predators 3) As a fingerling pike, you are a better swimmer but you are still at risk of being eaten by your siblings or starving to death if you can't find enough food 4) As a juvenile pike you get large enough to be an effective predator but you still have to beware of humans who can catch you as well as pollution caused by humans that may injure or kill you. 5) As an adult, you need to beware of dams blocking your path and preventing you from moving upstream and downstream in the river.
True or False: Northern Pike migrate to complete their life cycle.
A. True
B. False
Answer: A
Migrate means to move from one location to another. Pike migrate to shallow water to lay their eggs because it is warmer and safer.
Which if the following IS NOT a limiting factor for pike:
A. Anglers
B. Scientists
C. Water pollution
D. Kingfishers
Answer: B
A limiting factor is any challenge to an organism's survival. Fish scientists actually aim to help fish species survive.
Why do pike lay their eggs in shallow water?
A. So they do not float down river in the current
B. So the eggs can stick to vegetation or rocks
C. Eggs grow better in warmer water and shallow water is warmer than deep water
D. All of the Above
Answer: D
Which of the following IS NOT a predator of a fingerling pike?
A. Frogs
B. Wading birds like heron and egrets
C. River Otter
D. Osprey
Answer: A
Frogs are predators of pike when they are eggs and fry, but are too large for frogs to eat when they are fingerlings.
What have engineers done to help fish travel safely through dams?
A. Added fishing piers next to dams
B. Stock the water below dams with fish eggs
C. Removed all dams in the Unites States
D. Created fish passages that allow fish to move around the dam
Answer: D
Fish passages, or fish ladders, create safe ways for fish to move over or around a dam so they can migrate up and down waterways to complete their life cycles.
Pikes are "ambush predators" because they...
A. Live in the bush
B. Hide and wait for prey to attack when it comes nearby
C. Are carnivorous
D. Swim after their prey until the prey tires out
Answer: B
Ambush predators do not waste their time stalking prey. They are patient and wait for the prey to come to them. They hide, usually camouflaged to their surroundings, and then attack when the unsuspecting prey comes near.
What do you think would be the hardest part about surviving to adulthood as a Northern Pike?
Answers will vary but could include being eaten by predator, finding a mate, or being caught by an angler.
