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<br />highly variable environment. Anthropogenic activities, such as revetment of floodplains and erratic <br />regulation of baseflows by dams and diversions, change the natural biophysical variability and <br />reduce the variety of habitats available, thereby compromising the life history energy balance of the <br />fishes (Ward and Stanford 1989). <br /> <br />, . <br /> <br />Influences of Stream Ree-ulation <br />Flows in both the Green and Colorado River Subbasins have been depleted by diversions <br />and further regulated by hydroelectric releases from large storage reselVoirs (Figures 1. 7 - 9). Of <br />the larger tributaries, only the Yampa remains essentially free flowing. although regulation of the <br />White River is not severe (i.e., the main stem dam is a low head structure and water depletions are <br />about the same as on the Yampa). In order to examine the rationale for provision of flows to <br />recover the endangered fishes, it is necessary to understand how the river ecosystem has been <br />changed by regulation. The ecological effects of stream regulation have been extensively reviewed <br />and summarized (cf., Ward and Stanford 1979, Lillehammer and Saltveit 1984, Petts 1984, Stanford <br />and Ward 1986b, Craig and Kemper 1987. Carlson and Muth 1989, Gore and Petts 1989). As <br />above, I discuss only salient aspects of the problem here. <br /> <br />22 <br />