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<br />164 <br /> <br />VALDEZ AND MUTH <br /> <br />Narrow and lower Cataract canyons (Holden and <br />Stalnaker 1970, 1975a; Valdez 1990). <br />Humpback chub evolved in seasonally warm <br />and turbid water and is highly adapted to extreme <br />hydrologic conditions (Valdez and Carothers <br />1998). Although not a strong swimmer (Bulkley <br />et al. 1982), the species is extraordinarily special- <br />ized for life in torrential water of canyon-bound <br />reaches with a fusiform body, expansive fins, en- <br />larged stabilizing nuchal hump, coarse skin, deeply <br />embedded scales, and small eyes. Adults and juve- <br />niles in the upper basin occupy deep eddies and <br />pools along rocky shores, and young use sheltered <br />shorelines and low-velocity habitats (Valdez and <br />Clemmer 1982; Karp and Tyus 1990a; Valdez et <br />al. 1990; Chart and Lentsch 2000). Humpback <br />chub move substantially less than other Colorado <br />River native fishes and exhibit strong fidelity for <br />restricted reaches of river, generally less than 2 km <br />(Valdez and Clemmer 1982; Kaeding et al. 1990; <br />Valdez and RyelI997). <br />Humpback chub mature in 2-3 years at 200 <br />mm TL, and average fecundity is about 2,500 eggs <br />per female (Hamman 1982). Spawning occurs dur- <br />ing spring runoff at water temperatures of 16- <br />220C on large cobble bars or shorelines (Valdez <br />and Clemmer 1982; Kaeding et al. 1986; Tyus and <br />Karp 1989; Karp and Tyus 1990a; Valdez and <br />Williams 1993). Larvae hatch at 18-21 oC in about <br />6 d (Muth 1990) but do not drift extensively and <br />use shorelines close to natal areas. Humpback chub <br />feed opportunistically on drifting food entrained <br />in recirculating eddies, as well as invertebrates or <br />detritus on the river bottom, including planktonic <br />crustacea, larvae ofblackfly (simulid) and midges, <br />filamentous green algae (primarily Cladophora <br />glomerata), aquatic invertebrates, terrestrial inver- <br />tebrates, and occasionally other fish and reptiles <br />(Minckley 1973; Kaeding and Zimmerman 1983; <br />Kubly 1990; Valdez and RyelI997). They become <br />engorged by feeding on emergences of aquatic in- <br />sects (e.g., mayfly hatches), grasshopper infesta- <br />tions, or migrations of Mormon crickets (Tyus and <br />Minckley 1988). Parasites include the external <br />parasitic copepod Lernaea cyprinacea and Asian <br />tapeworm Bothriocephalus acheilognathi (Brouder <br />and Hoffnagle 1997; Clarkson et al. 1997). <br /> <br />Bony tail <br />Bony tail attain a maximum size of550 mm TL and <br />1,100 g (Vanicek 1967). Originally collected and <br />described from the Zuni River, New Mexico <br />(Sitgreaves 1853; Girard 1856), the species is com- <br />monly called "bonytail chub," a name that has also <br />been applied to humpback chub and roundtail <br />chub and led to taxonomic confusion. Bony tail <br />are streamlined with a small head, slender body, <br />and thin caudal peduncle. Maximum age of fish <br />from the Green River was 7 years (Vanicek 1967), <br />and bonytail from Lake Mohave in the lower basin <br />were 32-49 years (Ulmer 1983; Rinne et al. 1986). <br />Bonytail was listed as federally endangered in 1980 <br />(45 FR2771O) with critical habitat designated in <br />1994 (59 FR 13374). A recovery plan was ap- <br />proved in 1984 (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service <br />1984), revised in 1990 (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Ser- <br />vice 1990b), and amended and supplemented with <br />recovery goals in 2002 (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Ser- <br />vice 2002c). <br />Bony tail was once reported from various re- <br />gions of the Colorado River system (Cope and Yar- <br />row 1875; Jordan 1891; Jordan and Evermann <br />1896; Gilbert and Scofield 1898; Kirsch 1889; <br />Chamberlain 1904). The species experienced an <br />apparently dramatic but poorly documented de- <br />cline starting in about 1950 that was attributed to <br />construction of main-stem dams, introduction of <br />nonnative fishes, poor land-use practices, and de- <br />graded water quality (Miller 1961). Its population <br />trajectory over the past century is unclear because <br />of a lack of quantitative, historic basin-wide fishery <br />investigations. Interchangeable nomenclature be- <br />tween "bonytail" and sympatric Gila species (Valdez <br />and Clemmer 1982; Quartarone 1995) has also <br />led to confusion in species status. Ellis (1914) syn- <br />onymized bonytail with roundtail chub ':..since in- <br />termediate forms and those agreeing with the de- <br />scriptions of both species were taken from the same <br />station in the Grand [Colorado] River at Grand <br />Junction. " <br />The first record of bonytail from the upper <br />basin was "One specimen taken in the Gunnison <br />at Delta; five in the Green River... " (Jordan 1891; <br />Bookstein et al. 1985). Gaufin et al. (1960) and <br />Smith (1960) reported bonytail from Hideout Can- <br />