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10 <br />Colorado squawfish catch and relationship to flow, habitat and non-natives <br />The flow/habitat/CPE relationships were also examined with Pearson's correlations. Colorado <br />squawfish catch rates were not closely related to habitat availability or peak flows. There were slight <br />negative correlations between high peak flows and CPE, and slight positive correlations between fall <br />habitat volume and CPE, however none were significant. The relationships between high peak flow <br />and NNC CPE were strongly negative. The relationships between habitat volume and NNC CPE <br />were barely positive. There was a slight positive relationship between NNC and CS CPE (Table 5). <br />An interesting comparison between the Green River and Colorado River results can be made <br />here. The peak/habitat relationships were similar, in that high peak flows were negatively correlated <br />with habitat volume and with NNC CPE on both rivers. However, the flow/habitat/catch relationships <br />were quite~different. Whereas on the Green River, a mild positive correlation was seen between high <br />peak flows and CS CPE, on the Colorado, the relationship was equally negative. The very strong <br />positive correlation between NNC CPE and habitat volume seen on the Green River, was only slight <br />on the Colorado River; and the moderate negative correlation between NNC CPE and CS CPE on <br />the Green River, was moderately positive on the Colorado. <br />The conclusion drawn from the Green River data, that non-native cyprinids were limiting the <br />occurrence of squawfish, and that habitat was only limited due to competition with the NNC, does <br />not appear to be supported on the Colorado River. In general, the Colorado has more habitat and <br />NNC, and fewer squawfish, than the Green River, but a positive correlation between NNC and CS, <br />summer and fall. It is a paradox. Perhaps there may be some differences of productivity between <br />the rivers that would affect both squawfish and NNC, but no data are currently available to test this, <br />and the rivers are quite similar in sediment, gradient, and other physical characteristics. <br />