Critter Catalog

What do they look like?

• Other Physical Features
• ectothermic
• bilateral symmetry

• Sexual Dimorphism
• female larger

• Range mass

  1.8 to 4.5 kg

  3.96 to 9.91 lb

• Average mass

  2.5 kg

  5.51 lb

• Range length

  76 to 102 cm

  29.92 to 40.16 in

Where do they live?

• Biogeographic Regions
• nearctic
  • native

What kind of habitat do they need?

• These animals are found in the following types of habitat
• temperate
• freshwater

• Aquatic Biomes
• benthic
• rivers and streams

• Range depth

  0.3 to 10 m

  0.98 to 32.81 ft

How do they grow?

How do they reproduce?

• Mating System
• polygynandrous (promiscuous)

• Key Reproductive Features
• iteroparous
• gonochoric/gonochoristic/dioecious (sexes separate)
• sexual
• fertilization
  • external
• broadcast (group) spawning
• oviparous

• How often does reproduction occur?

  Blue suckers breed annually.

• Breeding season

  Blue suckers breed from April to June.

• Range number of offspring

  150,000 to 250,000

• Average age at sexual or reproductive maturity (female)

  3 years

• Average age at sexual or reproductive maturity (male)

  3 years

Blue sucker eggs develop inside the body of the females. Neither one of the parents invests time or energy into their young after females release the eggs. Adults and juveniles live in different habitats. ("Status Report on Blue Sucker (Cycleptus elongatus), a Candidate Endangered or Threatened Species", 1993; Burr and Garvey, 2006; Eitzmann, et al., 2007; "Species Profile: Minnesota Department of Natural Resources", 2012; Yeager and Semmens, 1987)

• Parental Investment
• female parental care
• pre-fertilization
  • provisioning
  • protecting
    • female

How long do they live?

• Range lifespan
  Status: wild

  9 to 12 years

How do they behave?

• Key Behaviors
• natatorial
• motile
• migratory

• Range territory size

  200 (high) km^2

Home Range

How do they communicate with each other?

• Communication Channels
• visual
• tactile

• Perception Channels
• visual
• tactile
• acoustic
• vibrations
• chemical

What do they eat?

• Primary Diet
• carnivore
  • insectivore
  • eats non-insect arthropods
• herbivore
  • algivore
• omnivore
• detritivore

• Animal Foods
• insects
• aquatic crustaceans

• Plant Foods
• algae

• Other Foods
• detritus

What eats them and how do they avoid being eaten?

• Known Predators

  • Largemouth bass (Micropterus salmonoides)
  • Northern pike (Esox lucius)
  • Muskellunge (Esox masquinongy)
  • Walleye (Sander vitreus)

What roles do they have in the ecosystem?

Do they cause problems?

Blue suckers have no known negative economic impacts on humans. ("Status Report on Blue Sucker (Cycleptus elongatus), a Candidate Endangered or Threatened Species", 1993)

How do they interact with us?

• Ways that people benefit from these animals:
• food

Are they endangered?

Blue suckers are considered Near Threatened by the IUCN Red List, and of special concern by the US Fish and Wildlife Service. More information on population distribution and densities is needed to further assess this species' conservation needs. The decline in their numbers appears to have been caused by pollution, buildup of sediment, overfishing, and building dams. Blue suckers also face competition from invasive species for resources and breeding habitat. ("Status Report on Blue Sucker (Cycleptus elongatus), a Candidate Endangered or Threatened Species", 1993; Burr and Garvey, 2006; Eitzmann, et al., 2007; "Species Profile: Minnesota Department of Natural Resources", 2012; Sutton, 2009)

• IUCN Red List

  Lower Risk - Near Threatened

• US Federal List

  No special status

• CITES

  No special status

• State of Michigan List

  No special status

Contributors

Ryan Acker (author), Minnesota State University, Mankato, Robert Sorensen (editor), Minnesota State University, Mankato, Catherine Kent (editor), Special Projects, Jeremy Wright (editor), University of Michigan-Ann Arbor.

References

Minnesota Department of Natural Resources. 2012. "Species Profile: Minnesota Department of Natural Resources" (On-line). Accessed February 08, 2012 at http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/rsg/profile.html?action=elementDetail&selectedElement=AFCJC04010.

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Status Report on Blue Sucker (Cycleptus elongatus), a Candidate Endangered or Threatened Species. North Dakota State Office: Ecological Services. 1993.

Burr, B., J. Garvey. 2006. Ecology of larval blue sucker (Cycleptus elongatus) in the Mississippi River. Ecology of Freshwater Fish, 15: 291-300.

Daugherty, D., T. Bacula, M. Sutton. 2008. Reproductive Biology of Blue Sucker in a large Midwestern river. Applied Ichthyology, 24: 297-302.

Eitzmann, J., A. Makinster, C. Paukert. 2007. Distribution and growth of blue sucker in a Great Plains river, USA. Fisheries Management and Ecology, 14: 255-262. Accessed February 08, 2012 at http://web.missouri.edu/~paukertc/reprints/Blue%20sucker%20in%20Kansas%20River.pdf.

Mestl, G. 2010. Seasonal resource selection by blue suckers Cycleptus elongatus. Journal of Fish Biology, 76: 836-851.

Mestl, G. 2009. Seasonal use distributions and migrations of blue sucker in the Middle Missouri River, USA. Ecology of Freshwater Fish, 18: 437-444.

Sutton, M. 2009. Blue sucker stock characteristics in the Wabash River Indiana-Illinois, USA. Fisheries Managment and Ecology, 16: 21-27.

Yeager, B., K. Semmens. 1987. Early Development of the Blue Sucker, Cycleptus elongatus. Copeia, 2: 312-316. Accessed February 08, 2012 at http://www.jstor.org.ezp.lib.rochester.edu/stable/1445766.