8290

• UCREFRP Catalog Number: 8290
• Author: Day, K. S. and C. Crosby.
• Title: An Assessment of Young-of-the-Year Colorado Squawfish ‎(Ptychocheilus lucius)‎ Use of Backwater Habitats in the Green River, Utah.
• USFW Year: 1997.
• USFW - Doc Type: FG-33,
• Copyright Material: NO

SXECDTIVL SUNII~lARY
Colorado sv~awf;ah nursery habitat formation, characteristics, requireme
were studied at Ouray National Wildlife Refuge, Utah from 1990 to 1996. All b
a 16.1 km reach of the Green River were sampled three times each year for pres
squawfish and measurem n o p ysical parameters. A total 1043 habitats was s
to test for differences between backwaters used by Colorado squaw is d back
backwater selection by Colorado squawfish, development of a model to predict C
squawfish use of backwaters based on physical parameters, relationships betwee
and nursery habitat formation, and relationships between spring flows and Colo
catch. Findings of this study include;
1) Colorado squawfish use large, deep backwaters with high turbidity. Mean
the ~average~ Colorado squawfish backwater is 992 m2. Mean Depth is 0.3
backwaters have mean surface area of 404 m2 and mean depth of 0.24 m. B
used by Colorado squawfish in the spring were larger and deeper than tho
summer and fall.
2) Water tem~p~erature may not have as much influence on Colorado squawfish u
backwa e~~rs as a ected. Backwaters used by Colorada squawfish were warm
unused backwaters in the spring and summer. However, temperature differ
between backwaters and main channel were significant only in the spring.