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<br />xi <br /> <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 />5. Preliminary analyses suggested availability of backwaters per se was <br />not limiting the relative abundance of age-O Colorado squawfish in <br />the upper Colorado River. However, further analyses of backwater use <br />by Colorado squawfish are necessary. <br /> <br />6. Investigations of hatchery-reared Colorado squawfish in ponds along <br />the Colorado River provided evidence that largemouth bass and green <br />sunfish can be important predators on young Colorado squawfish. <br />Whether predation by these species is an important cause of mortality <br />in young wild squawfish in the river needs further investigation. <br /> <br />7. Humpback chub moved relatively little from the turbulent, deepwater <br />habitat of the Black Rocks area, whereas roundtail chub movement was <br />more widespread and in some instances) 30 mi. This observation <br />suggested that the habitat requirements of adult humpback chub, <br />including those necessary for spawning, are met within the Black <br />Rocks river reach. Moreover, this observation suggests the humpback <br />chub population might be limited by the scarcity of turbulent, <br />deepwater habitats. <br /> <br />8. Spawning of humpback chub and roundtail chub were found to temporally <br />overlap. Therefore, concerns that alteration of the river <br />environment might cause interbreeding of these species because of <br />disruption of temporal isolation mechanisms can be dismissed. <br /> <br />9. Some hatchery-reared Colorado squawfish released in the river have <br />been recaptured. Although the rate of survival of these fish is <br />unknown, data indicate finglerling-size hatchery-reared fish grow in <br />the river and sometimes travel long distances from the stocking site. <br />Moreover, adult hatchery-reared squawfish stocked near Potash, Utah, <br />in 1980 have been recaptured in apparent aggregations with wild adult <br />fish. These observations suggest hatchery-reared Colorado squawfish <br />might be useful in augmenting the wild population. <br /> <br />10. Recent laboratory studies demonstrated how some water-development <br />projects have negatively affected endangered Colorado River fishes in <br />the upper basin, namely downstream from mainstream dams where <br />seasonal-high water temperatures are sharply reduced and no longer <br />adequate for reproduction. However, other river reaches are not so <br />affected but the populations of their endangered fishes are <br />nevertheless greatly reduced. This suggests that factors other than <br />modification of temperature regimes are important to the decline of <br />endangered fishes here. The effect of flow modification on <br />endangered fishes is not well understood but assumed to affect the <br />quality and quantity of important habitats (e.g. spawning areas, <br />backwaters). Although habitats that are limiting have not been <br />clearly identified, yet-to-be-determined quantities of each important <br />habitat are necessary to maintain the populations. The quality of <br />these habitats with respect to growth and survival of the endangered <br />fishes should be a consideration with importance on par with the <br />more-traditional quantity concerns. <br />