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<br />Colorado River had overwintered and persisted in the system for more than six months. Most of <br />the long-term recaptures in the Colorado River occurred in 2001. In the Green River, a total of <br />523 or 0.4% of the stocked bonytail were recaptured between 1999 and 2002. Of the Green <br />River recaptures, 59 fish had overwintered and persisted in the system for more than six months. <br />As in the Colorado River, the majority (31) of all long-term recaptures in the Green River <br />occurred in 2001. <br /> <br />Several factors potentially affecting survivorship of stocked bonytail were examined including <br />location of stocking, size at stocking, and the time of year released. The bonytail catch rates on <br />the Green River for each monitoring method were lower than those on the Colorado River. This <br />would suggest an overall lower survival rate of individuals stocked in the Green River. A lack of <br />fish stocked at sizes greater than 150 mm made assessment of size to survivorship relationships <br />difficult. For example, when comparing total length at stocking to catch rates, a positive <br />relationship (R2 = 0.85) was observed on the Colorado River, while no relationship (R2 = 0.08) <br />was found on the Green River. The strength of the relationship found on the Colorado River was <br />based on high return rates for one small stocking of 104 adult fish (mean TL=316.2 mm) in 1998. <br />When this cohort is removed from analysis, no relationship (R2 = 0.01) is observed. The increase <br />in return rate observed for the cohort of large bonytail released in 1998 was consistent with the <br />results reported during razorback reintroduction monitoring in the upper Colorado and Gunnison <br />rivers. Spring stocked bonytail may experience better overwinter survival. Although no overall <br />difference was observed between short-term returns for fall and spring stockings, growth rates of <br />small bonytail stocked in the fall showed, on average, no change in total length before the onset <br />of their first winter. This could indicate too short of an acclimation period prior to overwintering. <br /> <br />Overall, juvenile bonytail were found most frequently (55%) in habitats associated with flooded <br />tributaries. Bonytail found in flooded tributary habitats were generally small (mean TL 95 mm). <br />There was also an overall trend for bonytail captured in flowing habitats, such as runs, riffies, <br />eddies, and shorelines, to be larger than those found in backwaters and flooded tributaries. For <br />the 291 other Gila species captures recorded in the Colorado and Green rivers, the majority <br />(600.10) were found in flowing habitats such as shorelines, runs, riffles, and eddies. As was seen <br />with bonytail, other Gila found in flooded tributary and backwater habitats were generally <br />smaller (mean TL 82 mm), than those found in flowing habitats (mean TL 221 mm). This <br />indicates that flooded tributaries and backwaters are likely an important rearing habitat for all <br />juvenile Gila species in these reaches. <br /> <br />Longitudinal overlap between bonytail and other Gila species was relatively low in the Colorado <br />and Green rivers. In the Colorado River, the vast majority of other Gila species were centered <br />near the Dolores River. In the Green River, longitudinal overlap was higher. However, the <br />largest concentrations of other Gila species were found above the release site in Gray Canyon <br />and in the area within 20 river miles below the release site at river mile (RM)120. <br /> <br />Over 98% of all bonytail were captured downstream of the release sites on both the Green and <br />Colorado rivers. On the Green River, for all years combined, 85% of all bonytail were captured <br /> <br />Vlll <br />