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The Habits of Sticklebacks One unique aspect of sticklebacks is that in many ecosystems they are a pair of species. There is a benthic (bottom-feeding) species and a limnetic (open-water feeding) species. The benthic species forage along the bottoms of the shallow margins of the lake foraging for relatively large prey such as snails, clams and dragonfly nymphs. The benthic species eat similar food types throughout their life shifting to larger prey as they themselves get bigger. The limnetic species feeds on microscopic plants at the lake edge among the reeds and submerged plants when it is young. Here the young stickleback can seek cover from predators such cutthroat trout. As adults the limnetic species hunts in schools in the surface waters of lakes. There they feed on water fleas and other microscopic animals. Since they have different diets in the same lake, the two species of stickleback do not compete with one another but share the habitat.
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