Conservation
Much of the sucker's spawning habitat was destroyed when the first dams were built. Dams also created habitat fragmentation and restricted the movement of the fish, isolating populations from one another. A number of water diversion projects reduced river flows, causing streams to become shallower and causing stagnation in some areas, possibly having a negative effect on the fish. Irrigation canals have been known to trap suckers and their pumps can cause mortality. Fish larvae also become trapped.
About 70% of the wetlands surrounding Upper Klamath Lake have been impounded and drained, eliminating much of the habitat used by juvenile suckers during their development. Healthy wetlands also absorb contaminants such as phosphorus, which in excessive amounts causes blooms of organisms, especially the cyanobacterium Aphanizomenon flos-aquae. These blooms have led to sucker die-offs because the blooms deplete the dissolved oxygen in the water. The water quality in Upper Klamath Lake is poor, especially during the summer. While the sucker is relatively tolerant of poor water quality, compared to other fish, there is a history of multiple sucker die-offs.
Introduced fish species in the area include brown bullhead, fathead minnow, yellow perch, Sacramento perch, pumpkinseed, bluegill, green sunfish, largemouth bass, and brown trout. A number of these species readily feed upon juvenile suckers, especially the fathead minnow and yellow perch. These species may also compete with the sucker for food and space.
Pathogens may cause morbidity and mortality in the fish. Many have been observed with columnaris or "gill rot", a disease featuring lesions on the gills caused by Flavobacterium columnare. This is believed to be associated with lowered resistance to the bacterium from the fish, caused by ammonia-contaminated waters. Parasitism by a copepod in genus Lernea is becoming more common. This copepod feeds upon the living fish, causing wounds.
Conservation efforts include habitat restoration projects, hundreds of which have been started in the Upper Klamath Basin. It is too early to know whether these interventions will increase populations of the sucker.
Read more about this topic: Lost River Sucker
Famous quotes containing the word conservation:
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“The putting into force of laws which shall secure the conservation of our resources, as far as they may be within the jurisdiction of the Federal Government, including the more important work of saving and restoring our forests and the great improvement of waterways, are all proper government functions which must involve large expenditure if properly performed.”
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