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344 <br />McADA AND KAEDING <br />TABLE 3.-Spawning displacement, maximum displacement, and final displacement of radio-tagged adult Col- <br />orado squawfish, by reach of release. <br /> Spawning Maximum Final <br /> displacementa (km) displacementb (km) displacement' (km) <br />Release <br />reach N Mean SE Range Mean SE Range Mean SE Range <br />1 7 4.2 1.1 0.8-10.0 56.1 43.0 4.0-313.0 48.3 44.1 1.3-313.0 <br />3 13 32.1 8.7 0.0-92.7 44.2 14.2 1.0-193.4 31.1 9.0 0.0-112.5 <br />4 1 46.7 46.7 46.7 <br />5 2 47.4 45.3 2.1-92.6 53.2 39.4 13.8-92.6 53.2 39.4 13.8-92.6 <br />6 20 217 3.5 1.8-58.3 33.1 3.7 7.4-77.1 22.4 5.0 0.3-77.1 <br />7 4 8.0 2.9 1.1-13.0 12.0 2.0 6.4-16.1 4.4 2.7 1.6-12.4 <br />8 3 21.3 19.0 0.8-59.2 24.6 16.9 4.0-58.0 20.6 18.4 0.8-57.3 <br />a Maximum displacement from the release point during the estimated spawning period. <br />b Maximum displacement from the release point during the entire monitoring period. <br />Displacement from the release point at last contact. <br />dominance of movements less than 50 km long <br />by tagged adults in the Colorado River and the <br />widespread distribution of small larvae (6-10 mm <br />TL) support this explanation. Differences in the <br />seasonal movements of adult Colorado squawfish <br />between the Colorado and Green rivers may also <br />be explained by important differences in habitat. <br />Although discharge regimes of both rivers have <br />been altered considerably by upstream dams and <br />water diversions, only the Green River has a large <br />main-stem dam, Flaming Gorge, within the for- <br />mer range of Colorado squawfish. Operation of <br />Flaming Gorge Dam has reduced summer water <br />temperatures of the Green River downstream <br />(Vanicek and Kramer 1969) to the extent that the <br />river now provides suitable habitat for salmonids. <br />At the confluence of the Green and Yampa rivers <br />below Flaming Gorge Dam, summer water tem- <br />peratures of the relatively unmodified Yampa can <br />exceed those of the Green by as much as 10°C <br />(Tyus et al. 1987). <br />The dams and reservoirs of the Colorado River, <br />in contrast, are located in headwater areas far up- <br />stream from historical or current Colorado squaw- <br />fish habitat, and the dams farthest downstream <br />are not operated for peaking power production. <br />However, a comparison of U.S. Geological Survey <br />records for the years 1908-1923 and 1966-1989 <br />showed that these dams have caused a 49% re- <br />duction in average peak instantaneous discharge <br />at the Utah-Colorado border. In addition, the <br />Colorado River has low-head diversion dams that <br />prevent upstream movement of adult Colorado <br />squawfish into their original habitat. These diver- <br />sion dams may have blocked and thereby led to <br />the demise of upstream populations of adult Col- <br />orado squawfish that formerly moved down- <br />stream to spawn, much as Colorado squawfish now <br />do in the Yampa River (Tyus 1985). Such repro- <br />duction might have been important to the main- <br />tenance of viable populations of Colorado squaw- <br />fish in the upper Colorado River. The aggregation <br />of adult Colorado squawfish observed in reach 7 <br />in July 1982 might have been a remnant of a much <br />larger aggregation that occurred historically in the <br />Colorado River. <br />Tyus and McAda (1984) reported that the long- <br />distance movement of radio-tagged Colorado <br />squawfish in the Green River basin was related to <br />fish size and thus to maturity. Small fish (400-500 <br />mm TL) moved little, whereas larger individuals <br />moved extensively. In contrast, we detected no <br />difference in distance moved among the size-class- <br />es of adults. The return of many radio-tagged fish <br />to their release reach (often to within 8 km of their <br />original point of capture) suggests that some Col- <br />orado squawfish home to previously occupied <br />feeding or wintering areas. Wick et al. (1983) and <br />Tyus (1985) similarly observed that many radio- <br />tagged Colorado squawfish returned to points near <br />their original capture locations after the spawning <br />season. <br />Results of this study suggest that the spawning <br />areas for Colorado squawfish are widely distrib- <br />uted along the upper Colorado River and that the <br />seasonal movements of adult fish to these areas <br />are relatively short. However, whether the adult <br />fish have fidelity to particular spawning areas is <br />unknown, as is the consequence of denying them <br />access to such spawning areas. Consequently, we <br />recommend that no additional barriers to the free <br />movement of Colorado squawfish be permitted <br />within the current range of the species. Also, al- <br />though the apparent widespread spawning of Col- <br />orado squawfish in the upper Colorado River sug- <br />gests that spawning habitat is not limiting the