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<br />The status of fishes is designated as: <br />endemic - a species found only in the Colorado River Basin; <br />native - a species recent to the Coloradc River Basin but <br />occurring there before introductions by man; <br />exotic - a species newly introduced into the Colorado River <br />Basin (non-native); <br />threatened - a species or subspecies which may become endan- <br />gered in the near future; or <br />endangered - a species or subspecies in danger of extinction. <br /> <br />The current status of the four endangered fi~hes was obtained by a <br />comparison between the results of referenced 1982-85 studies and those <br />obtained from 1975-81 data presented by Tyus et al. (1982). Where obvi- <br />ous changes in distribution, new extensions, or better catch per effort <br />data exists, these recent developments are noted. Because source materi- <br />al varied widely in sampling design and effort, it was necessary to use <br />judgement in many cases for designating relative abundance and status. <br />Other unpublished sources may have been overlooked by the authors, but no <br />other major field studies were conducted in the Upper Colorado River dur- <br />ing 1982-85. <br /> <br />RESULTS <br /> <br />Colorado squawfish <br /> <br />Green: Catches of young, juvenile and adult Colorado squawfish <br />continue to be an order of magnitude higher in this basin than else- <br />where. Since 1981, the discovery of a second major spawning area in <br />this basin (Tyus 1985) emphasizes the importance of the Green River <br />and its tl'~butaries for Colorado squawfish. During some good repro- <br />ductive years, young of this species are locally common in productive <br />nursery habitat. Unfortunately, abnormally high summer-fall discharges <br />fronl Fla~ing Gorge Dam have been linked to failure of the 1983 and 1984 <br />year classes (Jones and Tyus 1985). The construction of Taylor Draw Dam <br />or. the White River near Rangely, Colorado has further fractionated its <br />range, and the loss of migrating adults from the upper White River to <br />the Yampa and Gray Canyon Spawning Areas (Tyus et al. 1982, Tyus and <br />Jones 1984) will result in a potential decrease in reproduction. <br /> <br />Upper Mainstem: USFWS observed that 1982-84 movement of radio- <br />tagged Colorado squawfish in the Upper Colorado River was greatly re- <br />duced from that se~1l in the Green and Yampa Rivers (Archer et al. 1985). <br />Most movement occurred during the presumed spawning period in July and <br />August, but concentrations of adults were not observed, as was seen in <br />the Green and Yampa Rivers. Spawning in the upper Colorado mainstem <br />may occur in several locations, but no specific spawning site has been <br />located. Systematic seine sampling by USFWS and Colorado Division of <br />Wildlife (CDOW) (Haynes et al. 1984) for post-larvae and age-O squaw- <br />fish in the upper Colorado River extended the previously known distr;- <br /> <br />-23 <br /> <br />r <br />1 <br />j <br />, <br />I <br />l <br />\ <br /> <br />I <br /> <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />r <br />r <br />~ <br />r <br />f <br />y <br />D <br />I <br />I <br /> <br />~ <br />1 <br />! <br /> <br />i <br />, <br />t <br />t: <br />