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<br />Biologist uses field data, libraty research in flow recommendations
<br />
<br />In the case of the razorback sucker,
<br />the data indicate a grim picture,
<br />Osmundson's flow repon reads:
<br />"The razorback sucker ." has
<br />repeatedly exhibited spawning behav-
<br />ior within the IS-mile reach, The sta-
<br />tus of this species is very precarious,
<br />Though adults probably spawn, no
<br />young have been reponed in the upper
<br />Colorado River in the past 27 years
<br />and, captures of adults in the Grand
<br />Valley have decreased dramatically in
<br />the last 17 years,"
<br />
<br />By Fred Quartarone
<br />Publie Information Assislanl
<br />Colorado Division of Wildlife
<br />When asked to recommend flow
<br />guidelines to benefit endangered
<br />Colorado squawfish and razorback
<br />suckers in the upper Colorado River,
<br />biologist Doug Osmundson didn't just
<br />head for the laboratory or the river-
<br />he went to the library.
<br />Osmundson's library trip proved to
<br />be anything but errant. He examined
<br />U.S, Geological Survey flow records
<br />for the Colorado River dating back
<br />nearly a century, Comparing historic
<br />and current flow records, Osmundson,
<br />
<br />"Applying scientific dis-
<br />covery to help save vanish-
<br />ing species - How could a
<br />biologist ask for a better
<br />job?"
<br />
<br />- Doug Osmundson
<br />
<br />a biologist with the U,S, Fish and
<br />Wildlife Service in Grand Junction,
<br />Colo., discovered the river's historic
<br />spring flows had been cut by about 28
<br />to 44 percent,
<br />Combining that knowledge with a
<br />decade's worth of data collected by
<br />other scientists and five years of his
<br />own field data, Osmundson produced
<br />an 82-page report describing the
<br />river's historic flows, flow alterations
<br />and likely effects on endangered fish.
<br />He also suggested new flow levels to
<br />improve reproduction of Colorado
<br />squawfish and razorback suckers,
<br />The study was just one in a long list
<br />of projects he has completed while
<br />working to save endangered fish,
<br />Osmundson has spent the past six
<br />years studying the Colorado
<br />squawfish and razorback suckers that
<br />inhabit the upper Colorado River, He
<br />has tagged, caught and raised hun-
<br />dreds of endangered fish during that
<br />time and radio-tracked about 30 of
<br />those.
<br />The difficulty of conducting field
<br />research projects and experiments in
<br />river environments rather than in a
<br />controlled lab makes Osmundson's
<br />work especially challenging, he said,
<br />
<br />
<br />Photo by Dale Ryden
<br />
<br />U.S. Fish and Wildlife Biologist
<br />Doug Osmundson holds one of the
<br />many Colorado squawflsh he's
<br />studied while working to recover
<br />the species.
<br />
<br />And diseovering new faets about the
<br />fish and their habitats keeps him moti-
<br />vated,
<br />"There is so little known about
<br />these endangered fish that you're
<br />always learning something new," he
<br />said,
<br />
<br />Trends now can be detected
<br />The hard work of endangered fish
<br />researchers is starting to payoff,
<br />Osmundson said, and biologists can
<br />now detect trends in the fishes' popu-
<br />lations.
<br />"People have been catching these
<br />fish and collecting pretty good data
<br />for 15 years or so now," he said, "We
<br />can look at the size or age frequency
<br />in a population today and compare it
<br />to the frequency that occurred 10 or
<br />15 years ago. If the size structure has
<br />changed or remained stable, it pro-
<br />vides clues as to whether the fish are
<br />replacing themselves or not."
<br />
<br />7
<br />
<br />More challenges
<br />New challenges lay ahead,
<br />Osmundson says, He believes priori-
<br />tizing research projects designed to
<br />save the fish is essential, but some-
<br />times frustrating,
<br />"Biologists don't operate in a vacu-
<br />um, We can't just do whatever we
<br />think necessary to recover the
<br />species," he said, "We (also) deal with
<br />water development interests and sport-
<br />fishing interests, and that makes
<br />things challenging,"
<br />Though Osmundson has found that
<br />aspect of the recovery process educa-
<br />tional, it's still the research that he
<br />finds most exciting,
<br />"Applying scientifie discovery to
<br />help save vanishing species - How
<br />could a biologist ask for a better job?
<br />It's great to work full time at some-
<br />thing you enjoy and believe is impor-
<br />tant and actually get paid for it.
<br />"Our ultimate goal should be main-
<br />taining the health of natural ecosys-
<br />tems, Species loss is a symptom of a
<br />bigger problem, The sooner our soci-
<br />ety views this as a high priority, the
<br />better chance we'll have of being suc-
<br />cessful, "
<br />Osmundson received his bachelor's
<br />degree in wildlife managemcnt from
<br />Humboldt State University in Areara.
<br />Calif., in 1978.
<br />He earned his master's in aquatic
<br />ecology from Utah State University in
<br />1985, after studying predation of
<br />largemouth bass on Colorado squaw-
<br />fish. Then he landed a job with the
<br />Utah Division of Wildlife Rcsources
<br />studying the rare least chubs and June
<br />suckers.
<br />In 1986 he joined the ranks of the
<br />Fish and Wildlife Service,
<br />
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