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7/14/2009 5:01:45 PM
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UCREFRP
UCREFRP Catalog Number
7304
Author
Tyus, H. M.
Title
Distribution, Reproduction, and Habitat Use of the Razorback Sucker in the Green River, Utah, 1979-1986
USFW Year
1987
USFW - Doc Type
Transactions of the American Fisheries Society
Copyright Material
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<br />114 <br /> <br />(44) than any area sampled and contributed 73% <br />of the ripe fish (N = 60). The male: female ratio <br />for all years combined was 1. 6 1 : 1. <br />The collection of sucker larvae from quiet <br />shorelines immediately downstream of suspected <br />spawning areas provided additional evidence that <br />razorback suckers spawned successfully in 1984. <br />Razorback suckerlarvae (10.6-13.6 mm long) were <br />tentatively identified at the Larval Fish Labora- <br />tory of Colorado State University by comparison <br />with cultured protolarvae and mesolarvae of the <br />species. Electrofishing captures of ripe adult ra- <br />zorback suckers also suggested that the larvae in <br />the seine samples were of that species, since ripe <br />suckers of other species were not observed in sam- <br />ples until after these larvae were collected. About <br />31 % ofthe 42 samples (1,085 specimens) included <br />larval razorback suckers (N = 33). The remaining <br />larvae represented numerous other taxa. <br />Ripe razorback suckers have been captured by <br />others (McAda and Wydoski 1980; Wick et al. <br />1982) in the Green River basin. These captures, <br />and the ripe adults and larvae obtained in this <br />study, confirm successful reproduction. Observa- <br />tions made at these capture locations were similar <br />to those made in reservoirs of the lower Colorado <br />River basin: razorback suckers spawned in shal- <br />low water over gravelly substrates and congregat- <br />ed near inflowing streams (Minckley 1983). How- <br />ever, these spawning activities and those in the <br />Green River basin did not appear to result in suc- <br />cessful recruitment. The large numbers of intro- <br />duced predator species in the Green River (Tyus <br />et al. 1982) may prey on larvae, as observed by <br />Minckley (1983). These species include green sun- <br />fish Lepomis cyanellus, which can suppress native <br />fishes by preying on their young (Lemly 1985). An <br />alternative hypothesis is that successful reproduc- <br />tion decreased after the impoundment of Flaming <br />Gorge Dam in 1962, implicating habitat altera- <br />tion as a major factor in reducing recruitment. <br />Low water temperatures in spring could lower the <br />survival of razorback sucker embryos, and average <br />spawning temperatures recorded in the river dur- <br />ing this study (15-15SC) may not be optimum <br />for hatching. Marsh (1985) documented the best <br />hatching percentage of razorback sucker embryos <br />at 20oC, with significantly lower hatch at 150C, and <br />complete mortality at 5 and 10oC. <br /> <br />Movement <br /> <br />Movements of the razorback sucker were de- <br />scribed on the basis of capture and recapture data <br />and radio tracking. Sixty-one razorback suckers, <br /> <br />TYUS <br /> <br />including six previously tagged by others, were <br />recaptured 74 times, representing 21% of the fish <br />captured. Of the recaptures, 39 were made 1-8 <br />years after tagging. This includes data on fish tagged <br />by Biowest, Incorporated, from 1975 to 1978 (P. <br />B. Holden, Logan, Utah, personal communica- <br />tion) and fish tagged by FWS that were recaptured <br />by the Utah Division of Wildlife (S. J. Cranney, <br />Vernal, Utah, personal communication). The re- <br />maining recaptures (35) were made within 1 year <br />of tagging, with the exception of three fish which <br />could be recognized as recaptures by the presence <br />of a line from which their tags had been lost. With <br />exclusion of 19 local recaptures (recaptured once <br />or more within 2 weeks of initial tagging), 24 fish <br />were sedentary and moved less than 10 km over <br />the tagging-recapture interval. The remaining 28 <br />fish were more mobile and were recaptured an <br />average of 59.3 km from their original release <br />points (range, 13-206 km). Only nine fish of this <br />group displayed more than the average move- <br />ment; one moved a net distance of 192 km in 4 <br />years and another 206 km in 5 years. <br />Twenty-one tagged razorback suckers that were <br />recaptured at least once were found at two or more <br />suspected spawning areas. Some fish moved from <br />one spawning area to another within one season, <br />whereas others moved between areas in successive <br />seasons. Fourteen of these fish were captured at <br />both areas in the Jensen reach: 11 fish moved <br />downstream from river kilometer 498 (DNM) to <br />Ashley Creek, and three moved upstream. Five <br />other razorback suckers moved downstream from <br />Ashley Creek to a flooded bottom (Old Charley <br />Wash) near river kilometer 400, and one moved <br />back upstream. One fish moved downstream 136 <br />km from Island Park in DNM to the Duchesne <br />River from 1978 to 1982 and returned 130 km <br />upstream to DNM from 1982 to 1986. The sig- <br />nificance or function of such migrations is unclear, <br />and it is not known whether the ripe fish are stag- <br />ing in one habitat and spawning in the other, or <br />if spawning occurs in both the mainstem and <br />flooded bottomlands. <br />Local movements were demonstrated by one <br />razorback sucker implanted with a radio trans- <br />mitter in April 1980. This fish moved about 6 km <br />downstream of its capture location and into the <br />lower Duchesne River (a suspected spawning <br />ground); it remained in the lower 2 km of the river <br />until flooding occurred in early June, then moved <br />into the Green River in the mixing zone of the <br />two rivers. It was relocated in July near the same <br />area, and slowly moved about 11 km upstream in <br /> <br />, <br />,~ <br /> <br />-, <br /> <br />, <br />" . <br />
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