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16 <br />Backwater nursery habitats were influenced by inundation and resuspension of <br />organic material from shorelines during increased flows and ultimately <br />influenced backwater nursery habitats. This energy source was important for <br />standing crops of fish food organisms (Grabowski-and Hiebert 1989). <br />Backwaters in the Ouray area, where young Colorado squawfish were most <br />abundant, were richer in food than upstream areas studied. Reduced water- <br />level fluctuations in that area resulted in more stable backwater habitats and <br />possibly reduced the export of nutrients and food (Grabowski and Hiebert <br />1989). <br />Juveniles <br />Colorado squawfish reach about 74 mm total length by age-2; their greatest <br />growth occurs during their third and fourth years just prior to attaining <br />maturity. Little is known about the habitat requirements of juveniles, but <br />they were captured in a variety of shoreline habitats including backwaters and <br />flooded bottomlands. Juvenile Colorado squawfish may be more numerous in the <br />lower Green River (Tyus et al. 1987) because of the downstream drift of <br />larvae. If so, a long-distance upstream movement by juveniles is needed to <br />repopulate upstream areas. Because only large-sized fish are found in the <br />upper Yampa River and the highest concentration of juveniles occur in the <br />lower Green River, upstream movements probably occur during the late juvenile <br />or early adult stages (Tyus 1986 and 1990; Tyus et al. 1987). These movements <br />require unrestricted access, which is considered essential to the species. <br />HUMPBACK CHUB <br />General Status <br />Humpback chub originally inhabited the main stem Colorado River from what is <br />now Lake Mead to the canyon areas of the Green and Yampa River basins. They <br />were considered less common than other endemic fish of the region but occur in <br />fairly large numbers where reproducing populations exist. The greatest <br />concentrations of humpback chub occur in the Grand Canyon portion of the <br />Colorado and Little Colorado Rivers and Westwater/Blackrocks region of the <br />Colorado River. Smaller populations and incidental catches are reported from <br />Yampa .River; Desolation, Gray, and Whirlpool Canyons of the Green River; and <br />Cataract Canyon of the Colorado River. The recovery goals for humpback chub <br />established through the Recovery Program are to "maintain or establish and <br />protect five self-sustaining populations, natural habitat, and two refugia." <br />Adults <br />Humpback chub occur in several canyon-bound sections of the Green River basin, <br />including the lower portion of the Little Snake and Yampa Rivers and <br />Whirlpool, Desolation, and Gray Canyons of the Green River (Holden 1978; Tyus <br />et al. 1982x, 1982b, and 1987; Karp and Tyus 1990x; M. Moretti and E. Wick, <br />pers. comm.). Surveys conducted prior to and after closure of Flaming Gorge <br />Dam indicated that all three forms of Colorado River chubs were locally common <br />in the Green River. This includes bonytail and roundtail chubs in upper Green <br />River above Ouray, Utah. Humpback chubs occurred in Desolation and Gray <br />Canyons and in the Flaming Gorge basin of the upper Green River (Smith 1960; <br />