Demographics of the spawning aggregations of four catostomid species in the Savannah River, South Carolina and Georgia, USA

Ecology of Freshwater Fish
By: , and 

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Abstract

Differences in the life history strategies employed by otherwise ecologically similar species of a fish assemblage may be an important factor in the coexistence of these species and is an essential consideration in the conservation and management of these assemblages. We collected scales to determine age and growth of four species of the catostomid assemblage (northern hogsucker Hypentelium nigricans, spotted sucker Minytrema melanops, notchlip redhorse Moxostoma collapsum and robust redhorse Moxostoma robustum) of the Savannah River, Georgia-South Carolina in spring 2004 and 2005. Robust redhorse was the largest species; reaching sexual maturity at an older age and growing faster as a juvenile than the other species. Spotted sucker did not achieve the same size as robust redhorse, but reached sexual maturity at younger ages. Notchlip redhorse was intermediate between the abovementioned two species in age at maturity and size. Northern hogsucker was the smallest species of the assemblage and reached the sexual maturity at the age of three. Both robust redhorse and spotted sucker were sexually dimorphic in size-at-age. The range of life history strategies employed by Savannah River catostomids encompasses the range of life history strategies exhibited within the family as a whole. ?? 2007 Blackwell Munksgaard.
Publication type Article
Publication Subtype Journal Article
Title Demographics of the spawning aggregations of four catostomid species in the Savannah River, South Carolina and Georgia, USA
Series title Ecology of Freshwater Fish
DOI 10.1111/j.1600-0633.2007.00284.x
Volume 17
Issue 2
Year Published 2008
Language English
Larger Work Type Article
Larger Work Subtype Journal Article
Larger Work Title Ecology of Freshwater Fish
First page 318
Last page 327
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