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<br />8 <br /> <br />Miller et al. (1982a) studied the lower 241 kID of the White River to its confluence <br />with the Green River. Of 15 fishes collected, eight were nonnative. Red shiner was the <br />most common and widely distributed of the introduced fishes. Miller et al. (1982a) observed <br />that red shiner juveniles and adults had greatest abundance at lower sites and decreased in <br />numbers at upper sites. Gila spp. abundance was the opposite, with greatest number at <br />upper sites. They postulated this could indicate that either habitat was more suitable for <br />natives in the upper strata or competition existed between Gila spp. and red shiner at lower <br />strata, with Gila spp. apparently losing the battle. <br /> <br />Relationship between abiotic parameters and abundance of nonnative fishes <br /> <br />The literature surveyed often revealed apparent relationships between abiotic factors <br />and the abundance of introduced fishes. The most common abiotic factors mentioned were <br />habitat alteration and flow events. Several examples follow. <br /> <br />In the San Rafael River, Utah, a tributary to the Green River, McAda et al. (1980) <br />found native fishes only at upstream stations. Introduced fishes were found at downstream <br />stations near the Green River. This was attnbuted to differences in habitat between the two <br />sections. The lower section was dewatered, less diverse, and more uniform than the upper <br />section. A similar pattern was noted by Deacon and Bradley (1972) in the Moapa River, <br />Nevada. <br /> <br />.. <br /> <br />Lanigan and Berry (1979, 1981) studied the White River (106 km) in Utah from <br />1978-1979. Red shiner was the most commonly collected species (62%) of all fish collected. <br />They cited a study by (Crosby 1975) in 1974-1975 that collected similar numbers of red <br />shiner (52%). Lanigan and Berry (1979) noticed that introduced fishes had replaced <br />endemic fishes in the lower White River and were becoming more numerous in upstream <br />reaches. They also suggested that the fish fauna may have been influenced by habitat <br />alterations because numbers of nonnative fish increased as habitat diversity decreased. <br /> <br />In the Colorado River, Colorado, low spring flows apparently benefitted nonnative <br />fishes that were adapted to stable environments (Osmundson and Kaeding 1991). High <br />spring flows, however, flushed nonnatives from backwater habitats and into the main <br />channel. Turbulent riverine conditions and delayed warming probably intedered with <br />nonnative reproduction (V~dez 1990; Osmundson and Kaeding 1991). <br /> <br />Abundance of, fathead minnow, sand shiner, and red shiner larvae decreased with <br />increased peak flow in three Grand Valley, Colorado, reaches in the Colorado and Gunnison <br />rivers (Osmundson and Kaedingl991). Numbers of other introduced fishes (mosquitofish, <br />green sunfish, and largemouth bass) were also negatively correlated with peak flow, but <br />correlations were not strong enough to be significant given the small sample size of years in <br />which sampling was conducted <br />