Observations of age-0 blue sucker, Cycleptus elongatus utilizing an upper Missouri River backwater

The early life history of blue sucker (Cycleprus elongatus) is relatively u nknown across its range; however, we collected seven age-0 specimens in an upper Missouri River backwater in North Dakota during the flood pulses of 1 997 and 1999. Specifically, the specimens were captured in the upper 0.4 m of the water column (1.0 to 2.5 m total depth) in close proximity to the ba ckwater-channel connection points and in the margins of marsh smartweed (Po lygonum coccineum) beds.