3504

• UCREFRP Catalog Number: 3504
• Author: Brooks, J. E.
• Title: Reintroduction and Monitoring of Colorado Squawfish ‎(
• USFW Year: 1986.
• Copyright Material: NO

reservoirs in the Gila River basin afford native fishes a
stronghold against the encroachment of development and resulting
biotic communities. It has been demonstrated that maintenance of
natural riverine conditions, especially including flow regimes,
is beneficial to native fish communities and detrimental to
introduced species (Minckley and Meffe 1986). The periodic
elimination or at least reduction of introduced fishes from
reaches of streams and rivers allows native fishes opportunities
to reinvade areas formerly unsuitable due to predation and/or
competition. There is no biological reason to believe that
reintroduced squawfish would react any differently than other
native fishes in Arizona waters.
Recent efforts to reintroduce razorback suckers in historic
mainstream and tributary habitats of the Gila River Basin,
Arizona have identified several factors that may affect survival
of stocked squawfish (Brooks 1986). Downstream dispersal of
stocked razorback suckers and subsequent predation by flathead
(Pylodictis olivaris) and channel (Ictalurus punctatus) catfishes
have resulted in substantial changes in the stocking protocol.
To avoid stranding of stocked fish by irrigation diversion
structures, downstream stocking locations have been eliminated.
Upstream planting in tributaries not only avoids this factor but
partially offsets that of predation as well. Tributaries are
generally dominated by native species, have few introduced
predators and in general are more natural ecologically (Minckley
and Clarkson 1979, Propst et al. 1985). Zn addition, stocking
larger fish may reduce the level of predation. Results similar