Yaqui Sucker - Reproduction and Biology

Reproduction and Biology

Spawning will usually take place early in the calendar year, particularly March and April due to specific water temperature preferences. During these periods the males will turn blue, while the females remain a yellowish brown. Juvenile suckers will immediately have exponential growth spurts, reaching 75% of their full length within the first year. Heavy predation and sexual selection could be contributing to these trends in growth. Little else is known about the reproductive habits and parental characteristics of this particular species of sucker, probably because federal permits to study endangered species are difficult to obtain. Suckers prefer fast and shallow runs during flooding seasons, and will retreat to slower and deeper pools during droughts. Suckers eat by pulling food off of the bottom of streams; therefore a heavy amount of sediment discharge is needed. This is why the loss of wetlands and environmental pressures are so detrimental to the sucker. Wetland loss and lack of sediment discharge/recharge are strongly correlated to the disappearance of the species.