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<br />Table 4. Young-of-year Colorado squawfish collections, Colorado and <br />Yampa river study areas, 1979-82a. <br />Study area 1979 1980 1981 1982 Total <br />Colorado River <br />Stratum H 8 66 1 14 89 <br />Stratum K 0 11 0 2 13 <br />Totals 8 77 1 16 102 <br />Yampa River <br />Stratum 1 46 23 20 89 <br />Stratum 2 0 0 0 0 <br />Stratum 3b 0 0 0 0 0 F <br />Stratum 4 0 0 0 0 <br />Stratum 5 0 0 0 0 <br />Totals Ob 46 23 20 89 <br />aCombined collections by Nongame Research and Northwest Regional personnel. <br />bOnly stratum 3 sampled in 1979. <br />For the purposes of this investigation, the earliest dates during 1979-82 <br />when water temperatures reached or exceeded 18, 20, and 22 C - along with <br />our earliest estimated spawning dates are summarized in Table 5. -For <br />those years for which temperature records are available, except 1979, <br />spawning is closely correlated with the earliest date of record when the <br />water temperature reached or exceeded 22 C. In 1979, spawning in the <br />Colorado River possibly occurred as early as 29 June, coinciding with a <br />temperature of 18 C but nearly a month prior to 22 C. This suggests that <br />water temperature at the spawning site may differ from the site at which <br />the temperature was measured or that 1 or more fish spawned at the lower <br />temperature. <br />The relationship between decreasing flows and the timing of the spawning <br />is apparent; however, a quantifiable relationship between relative level <br />and duration of flow and spawning success is less obvious. Further <br />analysis will await 1983 collections and more detailed data review, <br />including interpretation of capture-per-unit-of-effort values, and will <br />be deferred for the final report. <br />