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<br />i moderate depths (1.2 to 3 m) had on average larger condition factors than fish that <br />utilized either shallow (<1.2 m) or deep (>3.0 m) habitats. The reason for this affect of <br />condition factor upon depth selection is unclear, but there are at least three possibilities. <br />First, fish with large condition factors may be more "plump" than their kin because they <br />are more efficient foragers. If this is the case, then it follows that Green River habitats of <br />moderate depth should be more productive than either deep or shallow zones. It is not <br />known if this true. However, this hypothesis is testable since the diet of razorback <br />suckers is known to consist of benthio insects, such as Ephemeroptera and Chironomidae, <br />algae, detritus, and other items such as Cladocerans in reservoirs (Banks 1964, Jonez and <br />Sumner1954, and Vanicek 1967), and the availability of these items could easily be <br />compared at these water depths. <br />A second explanation is that habitats of moderate depth may require fish to expend either <br />greater or lesser quantities of energy to maintain position than either shallow or deep <br />habitats. This does not seem to be a correct statement since there was no correlation <br />between condition factor and current velocity. In addition, the condition factors of fish <br />observed to utilize backwaters were not statistically different from the condition factors <br />offish found in eddy pools, near shore, or in the main channel. <br />A third explanation is that habitats of moderate depth are more competitive environments <br />for razorback sucker than either shallow or deep habitats, and high condition factor fish <br />have an advantage over low condition factor fish when involved in competitive <br />interactions. This azgument does have some merit in that Abbot et al. (1985) found that a <br />weight advantage of only 5% was enough to ensure dominant status during paired intra- <br />specific competition in steelhead trout, and that the razorback suckers used in this project <br />had condition factors that were positively correlated with length. It then follows that a <br />larger fish involved in inter-specific competition for a food item, current refuge, space, <br />' etc., would fair better than a smaller or thinner fish. <br />A Potential Explanation for the Large Initial Dispersal of Stocked Fish <br />Often fisheries biologists attribute the high initial dispersal rates of stocked fish to <br />transport and handling stresses (Bonga 1997, Salonius and Iwama 1993, Waring et al. <br />1996). These stresses have been shown to cause fish to respond by secreting higher the <br />resting levels of the hormone cortisol (Barton and Zitzow 1995, Clearwater and <br />Parkhurst 1997, Parkhurst and Dedual 1994, Wallin and Van den Avyle), which can <br />have major physiological consequences. Higher than normal circulating cortisol levels <br />cause fat stores to be mobilized (Waring et al. 1996), circulating lymphocyte levels to <br />decrease (Barton and Zitzow 1995, and Salonius and Iwama 1993), osmoregulatory <br />imbalances (Bonga 1997, Barton and Zitzow 1995), and even lead to follicular atresia <br />(Clearwater and Parkhurst 1997). Chronic stresses such as overcrowding or intra- <br />' specific competition for resources can result in submissive behavior and the loss of access <br />19 <br /> <br />