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massive hatchery stockings. The pre-control Colorado River fish <br />community was a unique study in endemism (64 percent of all <br />native fish were endemic) (Carlson and Muth 1986); of the 36 <br />species native to the basin., 26 are considered as threatened, <br />endangered, proposed for listing, or under review for Federal <br />legal status. <br />The Missouri River, in spite of human endeavor, remains an <br />ecosystem which retains some of its original character. It is <br />composed of an organically rich floodplain with relict native <br />plant associations in an otherwise agricultural milieu. Native <br />terrestrial wildlife has had to adapt to the changing plant <br />community structure and many species which could not adapt have <br />disappeared. The ecosystem is further composed of a diverse <br />phytoplankton community, a complex assemblage of <br />macroinvertebrates and zooplankton, and a varied ichthyofauna <br />made up of native and introduced species colonizing a <br />dramatically altered environment. <br />Our intent, with this paper, is to discuss some of the changes <br />in species composition and abundance in both terrestrial and <br />aquatic habitats related to the structural changes and artificial <br />hydrologic regime imposed upon the river. We believe the <br />Missouri River °cycle of life° is threatened by past structural <br />changes and present water management that not only eliminated <br />off-channel habitat but interrupted carbon cycling. We will <br />- 4 - <br />