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Life History of Three Species of Redhorse (Moxostoma) in the Des Moines River, Iowa
Author(s) -
Meyer William H.
Publication year - 1962
Publication title -
transactions of the american fisheries society
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.696
H-Index - 86
eISSN - 1548-8659
pISSN - 0002-8487
DOI - 10.1577/1548-8659(1962)91[412:lhotso]2.0.co;2
Subject(s) - fishery , life history , biology , ecology , zoology
Life histories of the golden redhorse (Moxostoma erythrurum), northern redhorse (M. macrolepidotum), and silver redhorse (M. anisurum) were studied on the Des Moines River in central Iowa. Adult golden redhorse are widely distributed within the study area; silver redhorse and young golden redhorse are primarily in areas where the current is slower; northern redhorse are generally present in fast‐moving water. Redhorse populations are sedentary in the summer as judged from the movements of 1,642 fin‐clipped redhorses. Length conversion factors and body‐scale relationships are given for each species. Weight increased as the total length raised to the 3.0207 power in northern, 3.0980 power in golden, and 3.1243 power in silver redhorse. Coefficients of condition (C TL ) averaged 36.0 for northern, 38.9 for golden, and 40.4 for silver redhorse, but showed definite seasonal trends with lows following spawning and increases during the summer and fall. There appeared to be no reason to doubt the validity of the annuli as year marks. Age was determined for 487 golden redhorse, 319 northern redhorse, and 196 silver redhorse. The primary foods of the redhorses, in their order of abundance, are immature chironomids, immature Ephemeroptera, and immature Trichoptera. Silver redhorse do not mature until age V; most northern and some golden redhorse mature at age III. Total length and number of eggs per female were linear.