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The blue sucker (Cycleptus elongatus) was sampled as individuals arrived, spawned, and departed from a spawning riffle in the Grand River of northcentral Missouri, USA. The Grand River basin was not known to support blue sucker reproduction with few individuals ever recorded. The spawning site is unique in character for the lower river. Individuals began arriving in early April when water temperatures reached 10-12°C. Females with freely-flowing roe were sampled in late April after a large rise in river stage and concurrent lowering of the water temperature 4-5 degrees to 16.5°C. The spawning aggregation had a mean age of 15 y and ranged from 9 to 22 y based on scales that probably underestimated true ages. Males outnumbered females 5.5:1. Mean length was 659 mm for males and 721 mm for females. Females were longer at age than males and no significant age-length relationship was evident. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fish assemblages were systematically sampled along the transition from channelized to unchannelized reaches in seven streams in northern Missouri, USA. Streams ranged in size from 4th to 8th order and were located in the Central Dissected Till Plains including the Grand, Chariton, Salt, and Fabius watersheds. Maximum species richness was reached 3-5 km downstream from the end of channelization. A limited core group of 10 species was present at most of the sites (channelized and unchannelized locations), and a diverse group of 45 species was present at relatively few sites (rarely channelized locations). The core group consisted largely of tolerant, omnivorous species and contained no top carnivores. The 45-species diverse group included a greater proportion of intolerant, benthic invertivorous, lithophilous, and carnivorous species. The effect of channelization extended well into unchannelized reaches and should be considered by conservation planners. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]