Length–weight relationships for 14 cypriniform freshwater fish species (Actinopterygii) from the Upper Mississippi River Basin

Here, we use long-term monitoring data from fisheries surveys across six Mississippi River reaches spanning > 750 river miles (>1200 km) to estimate length–weight relationships (LWRs) for 14 cypriniform fishes native to the Upper Mississippi River system. Relationships between log10-transformed values of fish total weights [g] and total lengths [cm] were analyzed using standard linear modeling and hypothesis-testing approaches. Focal species included four North American minnows in family Leuciscidae [Cyprinella lutrensis (Baird et Girard, 1853), Notropis atherinoides Rafinesque, 1818, Notropis hudsonius (Clinton, 1824), and Paranotropis volucellus (Cope, 1865)] and 10 suckers in the family Catostomidae [Carpiodes carpio (Rafinesque, 1820), Carpiodes cyprinus (Lesueur, 1817), Carpiodes velifer (Rafinesque, 1820), Cycleptus elongatus (Lesueur, 1817), Ictiobus bubalus (Rafinesque, 1818), Ictiobus niger (Rafinesque, 1819), Moxostoma anisurum (Rafinesque, 1820), Moxostoma carinatum (Cope, 1870), Moxostoma erythrurum (Rafinesque, 1818), and Moxostoma macrolepidotum (Lesueur, 1817)]. Congruent with previous studies, estimates of parameter b were consistent with isometric or weakly allometric growth and ranged from 2.834 (P. volucellus) to 3.351 (C. elongatus), while estimates of parameter a ranged from 0.002 (C. elongatus) to 0.014 (C. velifer).