No abstract

Age and growth of the longnose gar in Tuttle Creek Reservoir were studied. The 101 gars were aged from the branchiostegal rays. The fish length‐branchiostegal length relationship was L = 174.21 + 25.74 B, where L = total fish length in mm and B = branchiostegal length in mm. Female gars grew faster than males. Growth increments for males for the first 6 years were 504.7, 123.7, 80.8, 48.6, 38.7, 22.8 mm; for females, for the first 8 years, 522.7, 164.1, 96.7, 64.5, 50.6, 59.7, 40.7, 20.7 mm. The length‐weight relationship was Log W = ‐6.426 + 3.274 Log L, where W = weight in g and L = total length in mm. Growth of gars in Tuttle Creek Reservoir was greater than that reported in other areas.

No abstract

Age and growth, food habits, and reproduction in two populations of plains killifish were studied from November, 1966 through April, 1968 in the Smoky Hill River, Kansas. Two age classes were present, with young‐of‐the‐year comprising a third class in summer. Foods were dipteran larvae, mayfly nymphs, and ostracods. Reproductive activity was similar to that described by others. No significant differences were found in morphology of the two populations. Presence of a “pored” lateral‐line series, kyphosis, and pelvic fin reduction are discussed. Parasites were Lernaea, Neascus, Posthodiplostomum, and Ichthyophthirius.

This study was designed to assess the populations of the carp, Cyprinus carpio Linnaeus, and the river carpsucker, Carplodes carpio (Rafinesque), in Cedar Bluff Reservoir, and the Smoky Hill River, west-central Kansas. Three variables•(1) growth rate, (2) condition factor, and (3) percentage fat content--were used to evaluate the two populations.Data were collected from the spring of 1967 to the fall of 1968. Mean calculated lengths of carp at different ages in the reservoir were comparable to lengths of fish in the river. The growth of the carpsucker was slightly greater in the reservoir than in the river. The condition coefficients of carp in the river were significantly higher than those of carp in the reservoir, but no significant differences existed between carpsucker in the two environ. meats.The percentage fat content of carp from the river was significantly greater than that in the carp from the reservoir, but the percentage fat content of the carpsucker from the two environments was not significantly different.The higher fat content and the more robust condition of the carp in the river indicated that this environment was more suitable than the reservoir for this species. The slightly increased growth rate of the carpsucker in the reservoir and the similarity of the other data imply that the reservoir may be a slightly more suitable habitat than the river for this species. STUDY AREA Cedar Bluff Dam and Reservoir is a Bureau of Reclamation project on the Smoky 276 STUCKY AND KLAASSEN--GROWTH OF CARP AND CARPSUCKER 277 FIGURE 1.--Map of Cedar Bluff Reservoir and the Smoky Hill River showing fish collection sites. The area is in Trego and Ellis counties, west-central Kansas. Hill River in Trego County, west-central Kansas, in the Great Plains Region, characterized by a flat-to-rolling topography and occasional breaks and canyons. This region has a continental climate with an average annual precipitation of 54.4 centimeters (21.4 inches) (U.S. Department of Interior, 1963). Approximately 70% of the Smoky Hill River drainage basin is native grassland (U.S. Department of Interior, 1963). Completed in July, 1951, Cedar Bluff Reservoir was constructed primarily as an irrigation, municipal-water supply, and floodcontrol reservoir. At conservation level, the reservoir impounds an area of 2,780.9 surface hectares (6,869 acres) of water, creating a shoreline of approximately 80.5 kilometers (50 miles) (Information Bulletin, Number 279: 1962). The maximum depth is approximately 20 meters (65.6 feet) near the dam in what was formerly the main channel of the Smoky Hill River.Koch (1968) reported that transparency, determined with a Secchi disc, ranged from 0.5 to 2.5 meters and that total alkalinity remained relatively constant, ranging from 105 to 120 ppm.