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of nonnative cyprinids declined by 41% in 1995. Their numbers increased in the latter portion <br />of the sampling periods as well. <br />Larval sampling effort in and neaz the mouth of the San Rafael River was very <br />compazable both years of study: 1994 (333.2 light trap hrs) and 1995 (350.8 hrs). An additional <br />107.9 hours was accumulated in the lower Green River in 1995, which yielded two razorback <br />sucker larvae. Nursery habitat availability, not assessed as part of this study, is likely a necessary <br />component in interpreting the catch data and in ultimately determining relative annual <br />reproductive success. Green River mean flow for the months of May and June varied <br />considerably from 1994 (May mean - 244.1 cros, 8620 cfs; June mean-169.8 cros, 5996 cfs) to <br />1995 (May mean- 298.8 cros, 10,550 cfs; June mean- 665.5 cros, 23,500 cfs). Due to higher <br />water levels, there appeared to be more flooded habitat available in 1995 than 1994 during the <br />sampling period. Whether or not increased available habitat influenced larval captures or if <br />reproductive output was decreased could not be determined from the information collected in the <br />present study. In the future it will be necessary to understand the efficiency of sampling gear and <br />the distribution of the target organisms in available habitats to better interpret results. <br />A concern within the Recovery Program and the focus of this study was the origin of the <br />razorback sucker larvae collected in the lower Green River. Sampling for razorback sucker in <br />both the middle and lower Green River begins when main channel water temperature reaches <br />14°C (Muth et al. 1998). However spring time water temperatures typically warm quicker in the <br />lower Green River than the middle Green River reach. In 1994, water temperature at Green <br />River, Utah (L1SGS gage # 09315000), reached a consistent 14°C on 12 April, a month eazlier <br />than this temperature was reached at Jensen, Utah (CTSGS gage # 09261000). In 1995, cold, wet <br />weather continued until late May for most of the state of Utah. The thermal regime at Jensen <br />reflected this weather pattern and 14°C was not reached unti126 June. Water temperature at <br />Green River, Utah, was only delayed slightly from the previous yeaz with 14°C reached and <br />maintained on 23 April, however summer daily maxima were lower than in 1994 (Figure 2). <br />Such temperature data suggests that razorback sucker would spawn eazlier in the lower Green <br />River. Thermograph data collected by UDWR in 1997 indicates that average daily temperatures <br />in the San Rafael mimic those of the lower Green River and daily maxima were slightly higher <br />than the Green River through the months of April and May. <br />A total of 481arva1 razorback suckers were collected during this study. Twenty-eight of <br />those (58.3%) were collected in the mouth of the San Rafael River, 181arvae (37.5%) were <br />collected in habitats immediately downstream (RK 156.2-152.8), and two (4.2%) were collected <br />more than 100 km downstream of the confluence. No razorback sucker larvae were collected in <br />habitats upstream of the San Rafael /Green River confluence. Muth et al. (1998) reported only <br />one capture of razorback sucker larvae in the Green River Valley during 5 years of sampling <br />(1993-1997). During this period of time in excess of 1,700 razorback sucker larvae have been <br />captured as result ofmulti-agency efforts (iJSFW5, NPS, and Colorado State University Larval <br />Fish Lab). This lone collection suggests that transport of lazval razorback sucker from the <br />upstream spawning azea is limited. Mean age for razorback sucker larvae captured in the lower <br />Green River in 1994 and 1995 was 17 d (Muth et al. 1998). Although we cannot discount the <br />possibility that a larvae hatched in the Jensen area could be captured 17 days later in the mouth <br />of the San Rafael River, we believe that it is unlikely that such a concentration would locally <br />aggregate after such a disparate distance (344.5 RK; 214.0 RM). More intensive larval light <br />trapping neaz the Jensen spawning baz in 1994 (as well as years subsequent) revealed larvae of a <br />7 <br />