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Movement and Miarations <br />Historical accounts document spring spawning movements of razorback suckers in <br />various locations in the basin (Jordan 1891, Hubbs and Miller 1953, Sigler and Miller <br />1963). Spawning migrations and other movements presumably evolved in the context <br />of flow regimes, pluvial events, and the diversity of available habitats (Smith 1981; Tyus <br />1986, 1987; Tyus and Karp 1989, 1990). Similar spawning migrations have been <br />studied for other riverine catostomid and appear to be a major part of their reproductive <br />ecology (Dence 1948, Breder and Rosen 1966, Werner 1979). The factors controlling <br />migratory behavior and homing in the razorback sucker have not been studied, but <br />there is some evidence that learned behaviors (e.g., imprinting) may have an influence <br />(Scholz et al. 1992, Modde et al. 1995). <br />Razorback suckers may travel long distances in both lacustrine and riverine <br />environments during the spawning season, and exhibit some fidelity to specific <br />spawning areas. In Lake Mojave, razorback suckers move throughout the lake, which is <br />about 100 km long (Marsh and Minckley 1989). Spawning migrations of 30 to 106 km <br />(one way) have been recorded in the Green River near Jensen, Utah, and in the lower <br />Yampa River in Dinosaur National Monument (Tyus 1987, Tyus and Karp 1990). <br />Extensive movements also have been observed in juvenile razorback suckers stocked <br />in Lakes Mojave and Powell, and rapid dispersal was observed in sonic-tagged fish <br />(Mueller and Marsh1998). Fish stocked in the San Juan River arm of Lake Powell <br />displayed a preference for the river inflow area, which they moved into and remained for <br />an extended period (C. Karp, pers. comm., 1998). <br />Razorback suckers travel mainly during the spring spawning season and are more <br />sedentary during the remainder of the year. In summer, razorback suckers in the <br />Green River were relatively sedentary, traveling only a few kilometers upstream or <br />downstream (Tyus 1987, Tyus and Karp 1990). Little is known about movements of <br />razorback suckers in winter, but Valdez and Masslich (1989) reported a net movement <br />of less than 5 km (3 mi) between 1 December and 31 March. Valdez and Masslich <br />(1989) also documented that changing flows stimulated fish movements in winter. <br />Diet <br />Razorback sucker diet varies depending on life stage, habitat, and food availability. <br />When larvae hatch, the mouth is terminal, which appears to facilitate great diversity in <br />feeding behavior. In the laboratory, larvae may feed at the surface, in the water <br />column, and on the surface of the substrate (unpublished USFWS records, Vernal, <br />Utah). In Lake Mojave, larvae begin exogenous feeding at about 9-10 mm total length, <br />and feed mostly on phytoplankton and small zooplankton (Minckley and Gustafeson <br />1982, Marsh and Langhorst 1988, Papoulias and Minckley 1990). However, larvae <br />stocked in a backwater in the Salt River, Arizona, consumed mainly chironomid larvae <br />(J.E. Brooks, USFWS, pers. comm., 1994). No information is available regarding food <br />habits of larval razorback suckers in riverine habitats. However, larvae of other <br />13 <br />