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<br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br /> <br />of the year. Results of investigations to date have demonstrated that <br />the backwaters connected to the main river are important nursery habitats <br />for larval and young-of-the-year Colorado squawfish and other native <br />species. However, exotic fish species introduced into the Green River <br />or Colorado River system also occupy backwaters. Radio telemetry studies <br />of adult Colorado squawfish have revealed spawning aggregations in <br />the lower 20 miles of the Yampa River during late spring. The squawfish <br />eggs incubate on the substrate for about 6 days after which they hatch <br />and the larval fish drift down the Yampa to the Green River, then down <br />the Green into low water velocity nursery areas such as backwaters. <br />The success (survivability) of the larval fish in these nursery areas <br />may depend on the ecological characteristics of the habitat and the <br />ability of the squawfish to utilize the available resources. Feeding <br />habits and food availability within nursery habitats occupied by young <br />Colorado squawfish are only poorly known. <br /> <br />The objectives of the present trophic dynamics study are to augment <br />existing information on the physical and biological characteristics <br />of backwater habitats in the Green River between the confluence with <br />the Yampa River and the confluence with the White River where larval <br />squawfish have been found. Characterization of physical and biological <br />parameters of these backwaters, such as morphometry, available structure, <br />physical-chemical aspects, density of plankton and benthic macroinverte- <br />brates, fish composition and abundance, interspecific competition for <br />food, and predator-prey relationships are necessary to identify variables <br />that impact survival of young Colorado squawfish. <br /> <br />3 <br />