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<br />. <br /> <br />Comparison of River Flow Regimes and Relative Abundance <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />Natives.- Correlation (Pearson r) among years between river flow parameters and <br />abundance of larval speckled dace and flannelmouth sucker was examined. The association of <br />Catch-per-unit-effort (CPUE) oflarval speckled dace and flannelmouth sucker with peak flow <br />was significantly positive among years ( r = 0.92 and 0.94 respectively). This is consistent with <br />other authors who have examined these associations (Muth and Nesler 1993; McAda and <br />Kaeding 1989; Osmundson and Kaeding 1989, 1991; Valdez 1990). In the lower Yampa River, <br />Muth and Nesler (1993) reported greater values ofCPUE for speckled dace, bluehead sucker, <br />and flannelmouth sucker were associated with high discharge and lower values of CPUE for <br />speckled dace, bluehead sucker, and flannelmouth sucker were associated with low-moderate <br />discharge. In the Duchesne River, relative abundance of post-larval speckled dace remained <br />high through the late summer of 1998 (Table 5). However, average relative abundance of post- <br />larval flannelmouth sucker for all three reaches remained consistent among years. Correlation of <br />CPUE for post-larval flannelmouth sucker with peak flows among years for each reach show a <br />statistically significant (P ~ 0.10) negative association (r = -0.97) in the upper Myton reach and <br />a strong positive association (r = 0.84) in the lower Ouray reach (Table 6). A reasonable <br />explanation of this association is that flannelmouth sucker larvae in the Duchesne River are <br />transported further down river from spawning areas during higher flow years resulting in lower <br />densities of post-larval flannelmouth sucker in the higher gradient Myton reach and higher <br />densities of post-larval flannelmouth in the nursery habitats of the lower gradient Ouray reach. <br />Nonnatives.- Densities of several nonnative species decreased from 1997 to 1998 on the <br />lower Duchesne River which may be a result of the high peak flows and sustained high base <br />flows (Table 5). All statistically significant correlations among years between total discharge, <br />peak flow and mean discharge and CPUE of nonnative fish indicate negative association with the <br />exception of the correlation of peak flows and CPUE of green sunfish in the Myton reach which <br />showed as strong-positive association (r = 0.78; Table 6). Statistically significant correlations <br />for nonnative fish were inconsistent among reaches and flow parameters. Other authors have <br />indicated high spring flows negatively impact some prolific nonnative fish species (McAda and <br />Kaeding 1989; Osmundson and Kaeding 1991; Tyus and Saunders 1996; Muth and Nesler <br />1993); while production of native larvae (bluehead sucker and speckled dace) is believed to <br />increase with increased peak flow. This negative impact was also apparent with smallmouth <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />10 <br /> <br />. <br />