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Razorback suckers exhibited both local and long-distance spring and <br />summer movements (Tyus 1987; Tyus and Karp, in review). Two spawning <br />migrations include movement between lower Yampa and upper Green (below <br />boundary DNM) rivers, and movement between upper Green River and Ouray area <br />(Old Charley Wash and lower Duchesne River, Tyus and Karp, in review). <br />Blockage of stream passage would interrupt spawning movements of razorback <br />sucker in the Green River basin. There is some indication that some razorback <br />suckers exhibit a spawning fidelity to a specific riffle (Tyus and Karp, in <br />review) and the importance of this phenomenon needs further evaluation, <br />particularly in reintroduction efforts. <br />The capture and artificial spawning of ripe razorback suckers in the <br />lower Yampa and upper Green rivers (FWS unpublished data) and the tentative <br />identification of larvae in upper Green River seine collections (R. T. Muth <br />and D. Snyder, personal communication) indicates that razorback suckers <br />reproduce successfully in the upper Green River basin. However, there is <br />little indication of recruitment to the juvenile stage throughout the Colorado <br />River basin (Holden 1978; McAda and Wydowski 1980; Minckley 1983; Tyus 1987; <br />Marsh and Minckley 1989; Tyus and Karp, in review). Standing crops of <br />razorback suckers in the Green River are presumably old fish (Minckley et al., <br />in prep) and no documented recruitment has occurred since the 1960s. <br />The apparent lack of widespread recruitment has been attributed to <br />habitat alteration, such as lower water temperatures (Marsh 1985) and <br />predation by introduced common carp Cyprinus car io, green sunfish, channel <br />catfish, flathead catfish Pylodictus olivaris, and other non-native fishes <br />(Minckley 1983; Brooks et al. 1985; Tyus 1987; Marsh and Langhorst 1988; Marsh <br />and Minckley 1989). Predation by non-native fishes is believed a serious <br />threat to the survival and recovery efforts of razorback sucker. The absence <br />of young fish in the Green River basin population may also be linked with the <br />reduced availability of inundated shorelines due to curtailment of spring <br />flooding following closure of Flaming Gorge Dam. Naturally inundated lowlands <br />such as Old Charley Wash and Stewart Lake Drain should be made accessible to <br />razorback suckers in the spring. The introduction of young fish (reared at <br />Ouray National Wildlife Refuge from sex products taken from wild fish captured <br />on nearby Green River spawning grounds) may ultimately result in natural <br />recruitment if the number of spawning adults, and consequently the number of <br />young fish, is increased. <br />Habitat requirements of this species in riverine environments are not <br />well known because of the scarcity of extant populations (Minckley 1983; <br />Lanigan and Tyus 1989) and the absence of younger life history stages <br />(McCarthy and Minckley 1987; Tyus 1987). Adult razorback suckers in the Green <br />River basin are old individuals (Tyus 1987, Minckley et al., in prep.) and the <br />low number of reproducing razorback suckers is considered limiting (Lanigan <br />and Tyus 1989; Tyus and Karp, in review). High spring flows, warming river <br />temperatures, and inundated shorelines and bottomlands are considered <br />essential to successful reproduction in this species. <br />PART III. SUMMARY AND RECOMMENDATIONS <br />Summary <br />General <br />The Green River basin is an important riverine system for the maintenance <br />and recovery of the endangered Colorado River fishes. Flows of the tributary <br />Yampa River are singularly important for maintaining a spring peak on the <br />24 <br />