June Sucker
Photo Courtesy of Utah Division of Wildlife Resources
Chasmistes liorus
NatureServe conservation status
Global (G-rank): G2
State (S-rank): S2
Utah Wildlife Action Plan status
- SGCN
External links
Species range
The June Sucker is endemic to Utah Lake and its tributaries including the Provo River, Hobble Creek, and the American Fork River.
Migration
The June Sucker migrate in the spring from the main part of Utah Lake during high flows to their spawning areas in the tributaries of Utah Lake.
Habitat
The June Sucker is unique in that it is a "lake Sucker" that spends most of it's time in the open water habitat of the main part of Utah Lake. Adults spawn on gravel substrate in the tributaries to Utah Lake. Juvenile fish require shallow vegetated areas at the mouths of the rivers they were spawned where they spend the first year of their life growing before venturing out into the open water of the main lake body.
Food habits
The June Sucker is primarily a zooplanktivore, which means it eats zooplankton in the water column rather than scavenging on the lake bottom like many other sucker species
Reproductive characteristics
Adult June Suckers migrate into tributaries en mass in the spring/early summer where they will deposit and fertilize their eggs in gravel substrates of the river tributaries. Once the eggs hatch the juveniles drift downstream into warm shallow waters of the river delta habitats at the mouths of the tributaries where they grow until they reach an age and size where they can join their adult counterparts in the main lake.
Threats or limiting factors
The June Sucker's primary threats include competition and predation by introduced fish species, as well as habitat degredation that limits the amount of habitat where juvenile sucker can make their transition from juvenile to adult.