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<br />. <br /> <br />DRAFT <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />times during the 1987-88 winter, twice within 0.5 mile of a site used the <br />previous winter. Three of the razorback suckers (GR-3266, GR-6116 and GR- <br />6117) were located either in the same location or within 0.2 mile of sites <br />occupied the previous winter, while razorback sucker GR-2417 was found in two <br />sites and within 0.1 mile of a third used by the fish the previous winter. <br />Razorback GR-6116 was located by FWS on May 12, 1988, subsequent to field work <br />by BIO;WEST. <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />6.1.4 Movement To Changing Conditions <br /> <br />As a result of these analyses, three variables were identified that appeared to <br />cause local movement by these fish; (1) fluctuating water levels, (2) presence <br />of moving ice masses, and (3) unidentified behavior modes such as feeding. <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />During observation periods of several hours, some of the radiotagged fish <br />initiated local movement during large decreases or increases in water level. <br />In the presence of ice, movement often occurred in response to changes in water <br />level and large ice masses; increasing water levels dislodged and transported <br />large masses of ice through the habitat occupied by the fish, apparently <br />forcing the fish to move frequently to avoid the ice pieces. Such activities <br />as feeding remain unidentifiable because of water turbidity. <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />In an effort to isolate the mechanism which caused the fish to move, local <br />movement was assessed for fish during changing water levels as well as for fish <br />under ice cover and in the absence of ice cover <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />6.1.4.1 Movement In Response To Changing Water Levels <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />Observations during 24-hour monitoring indicate that fluctuating water levels <br />were responsible for much of the diel movement. Most major movements by both <br />species of fish coincided with either rising or falling river levels. River <br />fluctuations were erratic and unpredictable due to variable discharges from <br />Flaming Gorge Dam and the time lag associated with the changes in flow to reach <br />any given location downstream. This confounds interpreting the influence of <br />other physical factors that may be responsible for activity or movements by the <br />fish, such as time of day. <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />A small amount of local movement is believed to be normal. However, movement by <br />both species during significant changes in river flow is perceived to be in <br />response to changes in habitat. This is best illustrated with sketches of <br />selected ice-free river reaches in which one or more radiotagged fish were <br />observed over a 24-hour period. Selected observations are presented in Figures <br />5 - 9 for each species from the upper, middle, and lower regions of the study <br />area, through which vertical changes in water level decrease with distance from <br />Flaming Gorge Dam. Each sketch is accompanied by a hydrogaph with the <br />movements of the fish depicted in order to relate these to flow. <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />6.1.4.1.1 Colorado Squawfish <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />A total of four radiotagged squawfish were selected to depict local movement in <br />three regions of the Green River relative to Flaming Gorge Dam; one in the <br />upper region near Echo Park at RM 343.8 (Figure 5), one in the middle region <br /> <br />29 <br /> <br />. <br />