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<br />002490 <br /> <br />60-72 and RM 185-205. <br /> <br />Fluctuating river stage in late spring or early summer may affect survivorship of small, larval <br />age-classes. Seasonal use of tributary mouths in the spring has been noted for this fish. Tributary <br />mouths are used primarily by adult and juvenile FMS for feeding, and for staging areas for <br />spawning in the spring. <br /> <br />Movements into the Glen Canyon tailwater occurred throughout the year, but appeared to <br />increase during late fall and winter and decline in spring and sununer, and results suggest that <br />peak seasonal migration into the Lees Ferry reach occurred from downstream locations. Timing <br />of seasonal increase in the Lees Ferry reach corresponds with pre-spawning migration to the <br />Paria River and its confluence with the mainstem Colorado River and is coincident with decline <br />in numbers in the Little Colorado River and its confluence area (McKinney et al. In press). <br /> <br />Bluehead suckers <br /> <br />Fast current runs and sidechannels appear to be preferred habitats for adult bluehead suckers. <br />Highest capture data indicate that these fish are found in greatest numbers below National <br />Canyon to Diamond Creek (RM 165-205) and below the LCR over rubble substrates and in the <br />absence of vegetation. Sub-adults have been caught most often in runs. Substrate preferences <br />vary with reach but YOY bluehead suckers are often found with YOY FMS in soft substrates <br />(sand/silt), consuming benthic invertebrates. At about 50-80 mm, they develop a cartilaginous <br />scraper and feed on algae and diatoms from rocks. <br /> <br />Humpback Chub <br /> <br />The endangered humpback chub (HBC; Cyprinidae: Gila cvoha) is an endemic fish species in the <br />Colorado River basin (Valdez and RyelI997). The HBC was taxonomically described by Miller <br />(1946), and was listed as an endangered species in 1968. The Grand Canyon supports the only <br />successfully reproducing HBC population in the lower Colorado River basin (Kaeding and <br />Zimmerman 1983, Valdez 1995, Valdez and Ryel1997). Valdez (1995) identified nine distinct <br />aggregations in the mainstream Colorado River downstream from Glen Canyon Dam, including: <br />30-Mile, the Little Colorado River (LCR) confluence area, Lava/Chuar to Hance Rapids, Bright <br />Angel Creek mouth, Shinumo Creek mouth, Stephens Aisle, Middle Granite Gorge, Havasu <br />Creek mouth and Pumpkin Spring. From 3000 to 3500 adult HBC occupy the mainstream <br />Colorado River, and these are largely concentrated within:!: 4.2 miles of the mouth of the Little <br />Colorado River (Mile 61), the largest sub-population. The mainstream HBC in the LCR <br />aggregation use the LCR for spawning, while other HBC appear to be resident in the LCR. The <br />distribution of HBC in the mainstream has not changed over the past two decades (Valdez and <br />Ryel1997); however, HBC density may have declined in the LCR during the past decade <br />(Douglas and Marsh 1996). <br /> <br />Habitat use by HBC varies between age classes and by time of day. Young HBC in the <br />mainstream have been collected in return current channels and other low velocity environments <br />(Maddux et ai., 1987, Arizona Game and Fish Department 1996, Valdez and Ryel1997). Young- <br />of-year and subadult HBC in the Colorado River mainstream often use irregular shorelines as <br />habitat, and adult HBC often occur in or near eddies (Valdez 1995, Valdez and Ryel 1997). <br />Adult radio-tagged HBC demonstrated a consistent pattern of greater near-surface activity during <br />