7354

• UCREFRP Catalog Number: 7354
• Author: Wydoski, R. S.
• Title: Biological Review of Endangered or Imperiled Fish in the Upper Colorado River Basin.
• USFW Year: 1985.
• USFW - Doc Type: Washington, D. C.
• Copyright Material: NO

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for the upper basin. However, all information should be examined and summarized
in a single publication. Overlay maps should be made that summarize vital
information on distribution, abundance, concentration areas, spawning sites,
nursery areas, and other important areas. In addition, the biological
information on the rare fish should be interpreted and summarized as a ready
reference source. An example of a preliminary analysis is provided in Table 2.
The CRFP biologists should direct their activities at thorough analyses and
summary of existing data. This emphasis will require that CRFP field activities
be reduced until the information is analyzed and synthesized so that the
important gaps can be identified and future studies can be designed with clear,
concise objectives.
The data should be summarized quantitatively when possible. However, some of
the information may have to be summarized in a qualitative manner using the best
judgement of the CRFP biologists because of small sample sizes. Depending upon
the data, parametric statistics can be used on some data but nonparametric
statistical tests can be extremely important in other analyses. These analyses
may require consultation with biometricians and computer programmers or may
require employing persons with these skills. The CRFP project leaders should
review their requirements and identify their special needs to the Regional
Office.
The synthesis should include a thorough analysis of existing data to refine
habitat utilization curves for the rare fish. The data should be analyzed to
compare differences between sampling gears and rivers. The CRFP biologists
should analyze these results statistically to determine if the data are
different or could be lumped together. They should also judge whether or not
the existing data adequately summarizes the habitat use by the fish based on
their expert opinion. Finally, they should determine if typical reaches of the
reaches have been surveyed adequately for determination of habitat preference.
They should be able to identify river reaches that will represent habitats that
are being used by the fish and habitats that are not being used by the fish for
certain critical activities such as spawning or for certain life stages such as
larvae, young-of-the-year, juveniles, or adults. This analysis should be
carefully reviewed with the Instream Flow Group with the Western Energy and Land
Use Team so that adequate biological input is available for establishing
predictive models.
Other analyses should examine more fully the relationship between streamflows
and water temperature and catch-per-unit-of-effort by life stage of the Colorado
squawfish.
After a thorough analyses has been made or currently available data, the vital
gaps in the biological knowledge of the rare fish should be identified and
studies outlined to obtain the information. The studies should be ranked in
order of priority. Such studies should, whenever possible, be designed to
collect various kinds of information simultaneously. These studies should be
reviewed by the UCRB Endangered Species Recovery Coordinator and the Biological
Subcommittee who can provide their recommendations to the UCRB Steering
Committee for approval.
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