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However, the effects of winter flow fluctuations on overwinter survival, movement, and backwater <br />habitats in the Green River downstream from Flaming Gorge Dam have not been demonstrated in the <br />field. <br />The goals of this project were to: 1) evaluate the effects of winter operations of Flaming Gorge <br />Dam on the survival, distribution, and nursery habitats of age-0 Colorado pikeminnow; 2) determine <br />specific habitat changes and accompanying fish movements resulting from flow fluctuations; and 3) <br />develop a bioenergetics model to assist in interpreting field data and predicting the effects of conditions <br />other than those observed during the study. To address these goals, three interrelated studies were <br />conducted. The effects of stage fluctuations induced by hydropower operations, should they exist, are <br />presumed much greater at the nursery area in the middle Green River (91 miles below the dam) than in <br />the lower Green River (290 miles below the dam). <br />The first study (Report A: Kitcheyan and Haines 2004) was designed to use capture-recapture <br />procedures to estimate overwinter survival and monitor movement patterns of age-0 Colorado <br />pikeminnow. Secondly, a mixture of deep and shallow backwaters were selected on the Ouray National <br />Wildlife Refuge to evaluate the effects of fluctuating flows on these nursery habitats and fish found in <br />them. <br />The second study (Report B: Plampin and Beyers 2004) described the range of spontaneous <br />movement rates (activity) of age-0 Colorado pikeminnow in simulated winter conditions. Movement of <br />individual Colorado pikeminnow was determined by measuring movement of individual fish at four water <br />temperatures (1, 5, 10, and 15 °C) and at three levels of disturbance (0, 1, and 2 disturbances/min). <br />The third study (Report C: Beyers and Plampin 2004) dealt with the construction of a <br />bioenergetics model that described the energetics of age-0 Colorado pikeminnow in winter conditions. <br />Energetic characteristics of age-0 Colorado pikeminnow were measured in the laboratory and integrated <br />into a fish bioenergetics model. Accuracy of the model was evaluated by comparing predicted growth of <br />iv