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19 <br />Temperature also affects egg development and hatching. In the laboratory, egg <br />mortality was 100 percent in a controlled test at 13° C. At 13° to 18° C, <br />development of the egg is slightly retarded, but hatching success and survival <br />of larvae was higher. At 20° to 26° C, development and survival through the <br />larval stage was up to 59 percent (Hamman 1981). Juvenile temperature <br />preference tests showed that preferred temperatures ranged from 21.9°~to 27.6° <br />C. The most preferred temperature for juveniles and adults was estimated to <br />be 24.6° C. Temperatures near 24° C also are needed for optimal development <br />and growth of young (Miller et ai. 1982). <br />Most information on Colorado squawfish reproduction was gathered from spawning <br />sites on the lower 20 miles of the Yampa River and in Gray Canyon on the Green <br />River (Tyus et al. 1984, Tyus and McAda 1984, Tyus 1985, Wick et al. 1985, <br />Tyus 1990). Colorado squawfish spawn after the peak runoff season from June <br />to September. Spawning begins when water temperatures reaches 18° to 25° C, <br />and peak spawning activity occurs between 22° to 25° C (Haynes et al. 1984, <br />Archer et al. 1986, Tyus 1990). During the decline in water level following <br />peak runoff, spawning adult fish move into run-riffle areas and occupy run, <br />eddy, and pool habitats (Tyus 1990). After spawning, adult Colorado squawfish <br />utilized a variety of riverine habitats including eddies, backwaters, <br />shorelines, and others (Tyus 1990). <br />Specific spawning sites of Colorado squawfish have not been identified outside <br />of the Green River basin. However, spawning has been confirmed by the <br />presence of larval squawfish in two reaches of the Colorado River: Black <br />Rocks to Loma, and Grand. Junction to Clifton (McAda and Kaeding 1991). Larval <br />Colorado squawfish also have been collected both upstream and downstream of <br />Redlands Diversion Dam (Burdick 1997). The presence of larval squawfish <br />aggregations and suitable spawning habitat in the Colorado River near Cataract <br />Canyon, Professor Valley, and upstream from the Dolores River confluence <br />indicate spawning is occurring in or near these areas as well (Archer et al. <br />1986, Valdez 1990). , <br />Data indicate that clean cobble substrates are necessary for spawning and <br />incubation (Tyus and Karp 1989). Substrates are swept clean of finer <br />sediments by high flows scouring the bed prior to the spawning period. <br />O'Brien (1984) studied the hydraulic and sediment transport dynamics of the <br />cobble bar within the Yampa River spawning site and duplicated some of its <br />characteristics in a laboratory flume study. Based on field observations, he <br />reported: <br />"On the rising limb of the hydrograph, sands are deposited in the <br />cobble interstices. These sands are interchanged between the bed and <br />