Although the trout-perch are abundant fish, their ecological role have not been well studied and are still not well understood, yet it is believed the trout-perch plays an important role at maintaining the equilibrium of its habitat. A study was conducted in Saginaw Bay, Lake Huron to learn about the ecological role of the trout-perch. Some results were collected, but there is still more to learn about this species. An important finding referred to the energy content of the trout-perch, which was higher than other similar species. The energy content of the trout-perch was 4795 joules, whereas yellow perch and round goby energy content were lower; 4662 joules and 3740 joules respectively. These findings are the main reason, scientists believe the trout-perch is an important source of food for other species in their habitat. Another finding showed that trout-perch prefer to feed from Chironomidae larvae (lake flies larvae), but during some months and trout-perch sizes, there was a slight difference in the feeding source. Bigger fish of this species preferred to feed on Amphipoda, whereas smaller fish feed on Zooplankton. Lake flies, lake flies larvae, and Amphipoda, seem to be the most important diet items for trout-perch in Saginaw Bay. The diet seemed to be the same for trout- perch in other systems besides Saginaw Bay, Lake Huron. Therefore, Trout-perch showed to be numerically important for the area since it seem to help to maintain the proper amount of species in its environment by serving as a food source and by preying on species, which are increasing and their increased can affect the ecosystem equilibrium.
