Laserfiche WebLink
<br /> <br /> <br />i <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br />specimen was captured on 1 July in 1999 (Fig. 9). Back-calculation of spawning dates based on <br />captures of larvae suggested that spawning occurred from late March to early June, which is <br />substantially earlier and over longer period than in the middle Green River. Most spawning <br />occurred when flow levels were relatively low or increasing and when water temperatures were <br />relatively low but rising. Flow levels during spawning were variable within and among years and <br />water temperatures in the Green River were also variable and ranged from 7 to 21 °C in 1998. <br />Those environmental conditions were similar to those during other sampling years since 1993 <br />(Table 8), except that water temperatures were generally cooler and days prior to peak discharge <br />were higher. Differences could be an artifact of the manner in which spawning times were <br />calculated or may represent real differences in conditions in those years. In general, razorback <br />suckers spawned in the lower Green River from eazly-April to early-May when water <br />temperatures were 10 to 16°C and when accumulated degree days ranged from about 350 to <br />1100. Spawning generally began 28 to 78 days prior to the highest flow day during spring runoff <br />and nearly always before water temperature reached 14°C. In contrast to the middle Green River, <br />larvae in the lower Green River were captured prior to or during high flow periods. <br />DISCUSSION <br />Previous investigators classified the population of razorback suckers in the middle Green <br />River as precariously small but stable between 1985 to 1992 and estimated population abundance <br />at about 300 to 600 animals (Modde et al. 1996). Modde et al. (1996) also estimated annual <br />survival rate, ~, at about 0.71 (SE = 0.0246) and concluded that some recruitment must be <br />occurring to sustain the population at that level. Our more recent analysis suggested that <br />20 <br /> <br />