White perch are broadcast egg layers, this means they don't use a nest but expel their eggs in a suitable spawning habitat and the males expel their milt (sperm) shortly after. Because they don't protect or care for their young after mating "Mother Nature" in her infinite wisdom uses numbers to assure propagation of the species. A single large female white perch can expel over 1,000,000 eggs. These eggs are heavier than water and drift to the bottom of the spawning habitat. I searched on line and in my library to see if I could find an answer as to why they exhibit such a strange behavior but was unable to find anything. I wonder if, because the eggs weigh more then water, that once all those eggs are released, the fishes balance and equilibrium are temporarily "confused".
|