User:Nooralrr/Santa Ana sucker

Range

The Catostomus santaanae range is extremely restricted; they are native only to the Los Angeles, San Gabriel, Santa Ana, and Santa Clara River systems in Southern California. Populations have been lost from several parts of the rivers, so that they now only live in Big Tujunga Creek in the Los Angeles River Basin, the headwaters of the San Gabriel River in the San Gabriel Mountains in Angeles National Forest in Los Angeles County, parts of the Santa Clara River system in Los Angeles and Ventura counties, and the lower part of the Santa Ana River in Orange County, especially areas with additional water effluent from sewage treatment plants. A substantial fish population can also be found in a research-monitored project in Los Angeles County of Haines Creek.

Description

The dorsal fins have 9 to 11 rays, while the pelvic fins have 8 to 10 rays. These suckers do have an anatomy variation by sex where females have tubercles on caudal peduncle and anal fin while men have an additional tubercles on lower half of caudal peduncle, anal, and caudal fins.

Also like the mountain sucker, it feeds on diatoms, other kinds of algae, and detritus, which it obtains by scraping surfaces such as rocks. It also eats the occasional insect larva, with larger fish observed to consume insects more frequently.

The breading habits of Santa Ana Suckers do not differ from other species of suckers as the female fish are attended by at least 2 male fishes during mating seasons. A female sucker can release between 4,000-16,000 eggs amongst her gradual breeding process.

Their living patterns consist of being a nonmigrant species that are short-lived with around 4 years of time, on average.

The anatomy of the Santa Ana Sucker is demonstrated, notably it's large lips which is used to eat through algae and insect larva.

Habitat

Santa Ana Suckers live in small to medium size streams throughout the year in Southern California. They notably thrive in freshwater conditions. The depths go from a few centimeters to over 1 m (3 ft 3 in). The rivers they swim in are at a cool temperature (average of <22°C), with variable flow as they are well-adapted to survive in the most-intense flood conditions. Not surprisingly, given their feeding habits, they prefer gravel, rubble, and boulder substrates. In 2010, USF&WS issued an expanded CH determination for the Santa Ana Sucker. 75 Federal Register 77962 (December 14, 2010).

Conservation

Since Santa Ana Suckers have been enlisted as an endangered species (April 2000), the Santa Ana Watershed Project Authority has been actively working towards conservation efforts through direct administrative action and educational opportunities for the public to become aware of. Watershed conservation efforts are key in saving these suckers as their biggest threat poses of habitat lose where it's recorded that they currently have lose over 95% of their natural habitats.