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<br />9 <br />assumption (see below). It is inconceivable that densities would be so <br />low as to result in catch of only 0.045 larvae per net-hour when <br />hundreds could readily be taken by dip net near shore. We thus <br />generated no new quantitative information on dispersal of larvae from <br />areas of known abundance, nor of_ t.heir presence elsewhere in Lake Mohave <br />proper. Larvae disappeared from the Hammerhead Cove area, and <br />presumably from surface waters of the entire lake, by mid-April. <br />Sucker larvae captured in Lake Mohave averaged 10.6 mm total length <br />(TL) from early February through early April (Fig. 5), indicating <br />continuous spawning and cohort production during the period. Because <br />neither mean nor maximum length increased, there was no evidence of <br />larval growth; the largest captured was 12.2 mm. Since swimup is <br />achieved near 8.5 mm (Marsh 1985) and larval growth rates are known to <br />be rapid at obtaining temperatures (Papoulias 1985), we estimate maximum <br />age of the largest specimens at only a few weeks. <br />A contrasting situation occurred in the Arizona Bay backwater. <br />Larvae were first captured on 7 March, approximately 2 months after <br />adults were stocked. Larval numbers increased quickly, and remained <br />high into April (see below). Mean total length of backwater larvae was <br />initially similar to that of fish from Lake Mohave (Fig. 5), but the <br />former attained lengths greater than 16 mm by 28 April, when the largest <br />specimen was 20.3 mm TL, similar to sizes attained by hatchery fish in a <br />. comparable period (Hamman 1985, Papoulias 1985). Habitat use changed as <br />sucker larvae increased in size. Small (<12 mm) larvae occupied shallow <br />margins of the backwater. A bright light directed toward water ca 20-50 <br />cm deep attracted these larvae from all directions but most were from <br />near shore. In contrast, larger (> 15 mm) larvae so attracted appeared