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<br />,
<br />
<br />Recovery Program and the San Juan Basin
<br />Recovery Implementation Program. The only
<br />remaining population of (partially) wild razor-
<br />back sucker inhabits the lower through middle
<br />Green River and lower Yampa River, but despite
<br />evidence of successful reproduction through the
<br />annual capture of larvae and supplementation
<br />with hatchery-reared fish, it continues to decline
<br />(Bestgen et al. 2002). Elsewhere in the UCRB,
<br />wild fish have not been collected since 1981 in
<br />the lower Gunnison River, 1995 in the Colorado
<br />River near and downstream of its confluence
<br />with the Gunnison River, and 1988 in the
<br />middle and lower San Juan River (McAda 2003,
<br />Platania et al. 1991), but small populations have
<br />been maintained or reintroduced by stocking in
<br />those reaches (Ryden 1997, Burdick 2003).
<br />Continued presence in the lower ends of other
<br />tributaries to Lake Powell (Bestgen 1990) is
<br />unknown. Monitoring of larval production has
<br />documented recent razorback sucker reproduc-
<br />tion, presumably by stocked fish, in both the
<br />lower Gunnison River (Osmundson 2002) and
<br />the middle and lower San Juan River (Bran-
<br />denburg et al. 2003).
<br />Flannelmouth, bluehead, and white suckers
<br />are the most widely distributed catostomids in
<br />the UCRB. Flannelmouth sucker and bluehead
<br />sucker remain common in the main-stem rivers
<br />and larger tributaries below Flaming Gorge
<br />Reservoir, but some populations are declining
<br />and both species are of special concern in Utah
<br />and Wyoming (Bezzerides and Bestgen 2002).
<br />White sucker is common in the Colorado,
<br />Gunnison, Yampa, and middle and upper Green
<br />Rivers, especially in upstream reaches. It also
<br />has been reported in the Duchesne River and in
<br />and below Navajo Reservoir at the upper end of
<br />the San Juan River.
<br />The status and distribution ofthe remaining
<br />UCRB catostomids are poorly documented and
<br />less certain. Mountain sucker, a Colorado spe-
<br />cies of special concern, is mostly restricted to
<br />headwater tributaries throughout much of the
<br />
<br />Green River Subbasin. Although rarely found
<br />in main-stem rivers, individual specimens of
<br />mountain sucker had been reported in the Green
<br />River near the confluence with the Yampa River
<br />and in the White River near and above the
<br />confluence with Piceance Creek. In the Colo-
<br />rado River Subbasin, it has been reported in
<br />headwaters of Dirty Devil River (Fremont
<br />River) in Utah and the Colorado River in or
<br />below Lake Granby, Colorado, but its historical
<br />or continued presence at the latter location
<br />remains unconfirmed. Utah sucker is restricted
<br />largely to portions of the Duchesne River drain-
<br />age and upper reach of the Fremont River, with
<br />incidental occurrences reported in the Green
<br />River in or below the lower end of Dinosaur
<br />National Monument. Longnose sucker is report-
<br />ed or presumed present in most middle and
<br />upstream portions of the Gunnison River Basin
<br />and is especially common in reservoirs of the
<br />Aspinall (Curecanti) Unit, but it has been col-
<br />lected as far downstream as River Kilometers 48
<br />to 67 (Burdick 1995). It also has been reported
<br />in headwaters of the Colorado River in and
<br />above Lake Granby and probably is present in
<br />the river and tributaries for some distance below
<br />the lake. Longnose sucker no longer appears to
<br />be present in the upper reaches or tributaries of
<br />the Green River above Flaming Gorge Reservoir
<br />as historically reported.
<br />The distribution and ecology of catostomid
<br />larvae and young-of-the-year juveniles in the
<br />UCRB have not yet been summarized, except
<br />for razorback sucker in the Green River by Muth
<br />et al. (1998). However, selected information
<br />can be found in various publications and reports
<br />by regional researchers (e.g., McAda 1977,
<br />Carlson et al. 1979, Miller et al. 1982a, Haynes
<br />et al. 1985, Carter et al. 1986, Tyus et al. 1987,
<br />Gutermuth et al. 1994, Burdick 1995, Muth and
<br />Snyder 1995, Modde 1996, Bestgen et al. 2002,
<br />Bezzerides and Bestgen 2002, Osmundson
<br />2002, Brandenburg et al. 2003).
<br />
<br />A Combined Developmental Interval Terminology
<br />
<br />It is often convenient and desirable to divide
<br />the ontogeny of fish into specifically defined
<br />intervals. If the intervals selected are used by
<br />many biologists as a frame of reference, such
<br />division can facilitate communication and
<br />
<br />comparison of independent results. The largest
<br />intervals, periods (e.g., embryonic, larval,
<br />juvenile, and adult), are often subdivided into
<br />phases and sometimes into steps (Balon 1975b
<br />and 1984); the word "stage," although com-
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