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DISCUSSION <br />Comparison of drift results from Loma, Westwater and Moab <br />Drift densities at Westwater and Moab were also compared with the concurrent larval <br />drift sampling conducted on the Colorado River within Colorado (Anderson 1999). For the three <br />drift sampling stations in Colorado above Westwater, Colorado pikeminnow density increased in <br />a downstream direction. Neaz the confluence of the Gunnison River, catch rates were zero to <br />near zero between 1994 and 1996. At the Middle Station just 5.1 km downstream catch rates <br />increased, ranging from 1.0 to 10.2 CPM/1000 m3 between 1994 and 1996. Catch rates <br />increased at Loma by 67% to 400% over the Middle Station during the same three-yeaz period. <br />The increase in Colorado pikeminnow larval numbers in a downstream direction suggests that <br />there was at least one Colorado pikeminnow spawning site located between the Middle and <br />Loma Stations. <br />Seasonal drift densities for Colorado pikeminnow larvae at Loma were not correlated <br />with Westwater drift densities 48.3 km downstream either in catch per 1000 m3 (r2 = 0.022; Table <br />8), or in total transport abundance (rz = -0.43). The lack of a correlation indicates differential <br />trends between years at these two sites. At Westwater the higher flow yeazs had higher Colorado <br />pikeminnow densities with the highest in 1993, and the third highest in 1995, while in Loma this <br />was reversed with the highest in 1995 and the 3'~ highest in 1993. The low flow years (1992 and <br />1994) ranked 4~' and 5~', respectively in Westwater but the ranking was 2°a and 4~' respectively at <br />Loma. The largest discrepancy in ranking was in the intermediate flow year (1996) which <br />ranked 2"~ at Westwater but was 5`~ at Loma (Table 8). <br />The lack of a correlation between Loma and Westwater results does not support <br />assumptions that upstream (Loma) drift densities influence downstream abundance or that Loma <br />and Westwater are sampling the same larval population, offset temporally. With current <br />velocities of only 0.9 m/sec, passively drifting larvae could move between Loma and Westwater <br />in less than 24 hours. However, peaks in larval collections at the sites were not consistently <br />offset temporally. Also, the onset of spawning occurred eazlier at Westwater than at Loma in 4 <br />out of 5 years, and earliest at Moab in 3 of 5 years. Either different larval populations were <br />sampled, or the sampling efforts at one or more stations were not representative of the actual <br />larval population size. The differences could be partly attributed to an artifact of data <br />manipulation, because seasonal densities are difficult to standardize due to the large number of <br />zero-fish days. <br />Catch rates and total transport abundance were calculated for the 26 highest fish days at <br />Loma, which included all the days Colorado pikeminnow were collected. However, at <br />Westwater and Moab, catch rates were calculated from the first to the last day pikeminnow were <br />collected, which was frequently longer than 26 days. Use of a standazd 26 days would either <br />raise or lower yeazly catch rates by the subtraction or addition of zero-fish days, or pikeminnow <br />collection days. However, this manipulation would not change the basic relationship of catch <br />rates, which declined between Loma and Westwater, and increased between Westwater and <br />Moab. <br />Catch rates in both fish/1000 m3, and total transport abundance were lower at Westwater <br />than at Loma in all five years (Table 8). This may indicate that Colorado pikeminnow larval <br />mortality exceeded recruitment between Loma and Westwater, although the Westwater station <br />15 <br />