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The tapeworm (Proteocephaluc ptych~cheilus) was often found in the <br />stomachs of sub-adult and adult Colorado squawfish and is common too in <br />northern squawfish and red shiner in the Columbia River system (Hoffman <br />19 ). The presence of the bass tape worm (P. amblopletes) reported by <br />Vanicek and Kramer (1969) was not confirmed. <br />Generally, we believe that populations of Colorado squawfish in the <br />upper basin are not being adversely impacted by disease or parasites. <br />The incidence of infection from pathogens observed, although high for <br />Learnaea, is not out of the ordinary of what could be expected in a <br />natural fish population. <br />Humpback Chub <br />Distribution and Abundance <br />The only major populations of humpback chub, Gila cypha, conclusively <br />known to exist in the upper basin are located in Black Rocks (RM 135- <br />137) and Westwater Canyons (RM 116-124) on the main Colorado River. <br />Incidental captures were recorded from Cataract Canyon; throughout Gray <br />and Desolation Canyons on the Green River; and at the lower end of Cross <br />Mountain Canyon and in Yampa Canyon on the Yampa River. There was also <br />a mixed population of G. cypha, robusta, elegans and a substantial <br />number of intergrades located near Coal Creek in lower Gray Canyon. <br />Another small population of indistinct taxonomy was identified in Debeque <br />Canyon (RM 195-197) on the main Colorado River. <br />The sampling program demonstrated that humpback chub were prevalent <br />in Black Rocks and Westwater Canyons. Catch rates yielded 40 and 18 <br />fish per 10 hr of netting as compared to less than 0.1 fish per 10 hr <br />for all other areas. Disproportionate sampling efforts yielded 167 <br />humpback chubs from Black Rocks and 62 from Westwater Canyon. Of 218 <br />adult humpback chubs tagged with Carlin dangler tags in Black Rocks and <br />Westwater Canyon, 16 were recaptured. All but one of these fish were <br />recaptured within less than 0.5 mi of their initial release site. The <br />exception was a fish that had migrated from Westwater Canyon 14 mi <br />upstream to Black Rocks. <br />The Coal Creek population yielded 70 specimens of various class- <br />ifications. Of these, 52 were tagged and 10 subsequently recaptured in <br />the same area. <br />Aabitat Selection <br />Humpback were very restrictive in the habitat preferred and occupied. <br />The species in all life stages were concentrated in canyon areas of <br />great depths and fast water velocities with redrock, boulder and sand <br />substrates. Microhabitat preferred within these canyons indicated the <br />humpback did not spend a lot of time in the swifter, turbulent waters <br />but preferred the associated slower pools and eddies with velocities of <br />0 to 3.8 fps but averaging 0.2 to 0.3 fps. <br />