Comparative Survival of Razorback sucker in LCR Reach 3
Persistence of razorback sucker (Xyrauchen texanus) in the lower Colorado River below Hoover Dam now relies entirely upon stocking programs. Even so, only a small proportion of stocked fish are ever encountered in the wild. In Lake Havasu (MSCP Reach 3), recent telemetry studies have found large spawning aggregations of razorback sucker in the upstream, riverine portion outside of reservoir habitat that is unsuitable for standard net based sampling that occurs in the lake. Contacting a greater proportion of the population is vital to assess the current at large population and the factors that affect individual survival.