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reservoir habitat of Lake Mojave (lower basin), uninfluenced by seasonal flow patterns, <br />most spawning occurs from January to April (Minckley 1983, Langhorst and Marsh 1986, <br />Mueller 1989). In the Green River (upper basin), spawning occurs during mid- to late May <br />in high water years and April to mid-May in low water years (Muth et al. 1998). In the <br />upper Colorado River, capture dates for ripe adults during a 15-year period corresponded <br />to the period when peak snow-melt runoff flows typically occur: of 42 ripe fish, 40 (95%) <br />were captured between May 20 and June 17, and 84% of peak flows in the Grand Valley <br />over an 83-yr period occurred between May 20 and June 23 (Osmundson and Kaeding <br />1991). <br />Migrations to spawning areas have been documented in upper basin rivers. In the <br />Grand Valley, 2 adults migrated 11 and 26 km just prior to the estimated spawning period <br />(Osmundson and Kaeding 1989); in the Green River, adults have migrated as far as 190 km <br />(Tyus and Karp 1990). Razorback suckers in spawning condition are generally captured in <br />the Green River system in one of two known mid-channel sites in riffles or shallow runs <br />with a gravel or cobble substrate (Tyus and Karp 1990). In the lower basin, razorback <br />suckers successfully spawn along gravel beaches of large reservoirs (Douglas 1952, <br />Minckley 1983, Bozek et al. 1984, Mueller 1989, Holden et al. 1999). No mid-channel <br />spawning sites have been located in the upper Colorado River. During 1974-1991, 38 of 42 <br />adults in spawning condition captured in the Grand Valley were from flooded gravel pits <br />(summarized by Osmundson and Kaeding 1991). It is unknown whether these fish, when <br />caught, were staging in preparation for mid-channel spawning or whether they spawned in <br />these off-channel habitats. McAda and Wydoski (1980) captured two ripe females and five <br />ripe males in one trammel net in a large gravel-pit pond near Grand Junction and believed <br />these fish were spawning at the time of capture. <br />Availability of appropriate temperatures plays an important role in reproductive <br />success of fishes. Incubation time and hatching success of fertilized razorback sucker eggs <br />varies with water temperature. After egg deposition and fertilization, embryos incubate in <br />the substrate for varying lengths of time, with the shortest times occurring at the warmest <br />temperatures (Haines 1995). In the Green River, mid-channel spawning results in larval <br />9