Migration, Movements and Habitat Preferences of Colorado Squawfish, Ptychocheilus lucius, in the Green, White and Yampa Rivers, Colorado and Utah

Tyus, Harold M.; McAda, Charles W.

doi:10.2307/3671360

Cited by 40 publications

(43 citation statements)

References 6 publications

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“…Year 1983 1983and 1984, and in Kenney Reservoir, 1985. Sampling methods included combinations of electrofishing (e), gill nets (g), and seining (s) as indicated.…”

Section: Above Reservoirmentioning

confidence: 99%

Fish species composition before and after construction of a main stem reservoir on the White River, Colorado

et al. 1994

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SynopsisThe completion in the fall of 1984 of Taylor Draw Dam on the White River, Colorado, formed Kenney Reservoir -thus impounding the last significant free-flowing tributary in the Upper Colorado River Basin. Fishes were sampled above and below the dam axis prior to closure of the dam and in the reservoir and river downstream following impoundment. While immediate effects of the dam to the ichthyofauna included blockage of upstream migration to 80 km of documented range for endangered Colorado squawfish, the reservoir also proved to have profound delayed effects on the river's species composition. Pre-impoundment investigations in 1983-1984 showed strong domination by native species above, within, and below the reservoir basin. By 1989-1990, non-native species comprised roughly 90% of the fishes collected in the reservoir and 80% of the fishes collected in the river below the dam. Initially, fathead minnow, whose numbers quickly increased in the new reservoir, dominated all post-impoundment collections, but red shiner became the most abundant fish collected in the river below the dam by [1989][1990]. While agency stocking programs for the reservoir sought to emphasize a sport fishery for salmonids, primarily rainbow trout, local enthusiasm for warmwater sport fishes resulted in illicit transfers of these species from nearby impoundments. Several species, formerly rare or unreported in the White River in Colorado, including white sucker, northern pike, green sunfish, bluegill, largemouth bass and black crappie, were present in the river following impoundment. Our investigation indicates smaller-scale, main-stem impoundments that do not radically alter hydrologic or thermal regimes can still have a profound influence on native ichthyofauna by facilitating establishment and proliferation of nonnative species. 228

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“…Year 1983 1983and 1984, and in Kenney Reservoir, 1985. Sampling methods included combinations of electrofishing (e), gill nets (g), and seining (s) as indicated.…”

Section: Above Reservoirmentioning

confidence: 99%

Fish species composition before and after construction of a main stem reservoir on the White River, Colorado

et al. 1994

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“…S-70.7 cm TL, N = 2329 observations) indicated that they were most often associated with shorelines . Comparable data on habitat use was presented by Holden and Wick (1982), Tyus et al (1982bTyus et al ( , 1984, , .…”

Section: Adultsmentioning

confidence: 88%

“…19-3). One migration to Yampa Canyon (Yampa River km 0-32) was identified in 1981 and studied annually through 1988 Tyus and McAda 1984;Tyus et al 1987;Tyus and Karp 1989). The other migration, to Gray Canyon of the Green River (km 232-256), was suspected in 1982, but insufficient fish were radio-tracked to confirm it until 1983 (Tyus 1985).…”

Section: Reproductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Squawfish management in the upper Colorado basin is now centered on a multiagency consortium coordinated by the USFWS (1987a), and there is optimism for its recovery by the end of this century (USFWS 1987a;Rose and Hamill 1988;Wydoski and Hamill, Knowledge of spawning areas, nursery habitats, and concentration areas was almost nonexistent, and they remained poorly documented until the 1980s (Tyus et al 1981Haynes et al 1984;Tyus and McAda 1984;Archer et al 1985Archer et al , 1986Tyus 1985Tyus , 1986Nesler et al 1988), when new and better technology and sufficient funds enabled accelerated research. Relative densities for adults, juveniles, and young have now been mapped, and management strategies have been drafted (Archer et al 1986;USFWS 1987a).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Battle against extinction: native fish management in the American West

1992

Choice Reviews Online

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“…Water temperature is a cue for spawning of temperate-zone fishes. Colorado squawfish begin spawning when temperatures reach 20-22°C (Hamman 1981, Tyus & McAda 1984, Haynes et al 1984) -normally during July or August in the upper basin (Fig. 3) -and embryos hatch 4-5 days later (Hamman 1981).…”

Section: Synthesismentioning

confidence: 99%

Interaction of slow growth and increased early-life mortality: an hypothesis on the decline of Colorado squawfish in the upstream regions of its historic range

Kaeding

Osmundson

1988

Environ Biol Fish

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SynopsisThe Colorado squawfish, Ptychocheilus lucks, the principal native piscivore of the Colorado River basin, was once widespread and abundant in large rivers and their major tributaries. It occurs today only in the upstream regions of its historic range and is threatened with extinction. Growth rate of the species there is much slower than its potential rate and the rate that might once have been typical in lower-basin rivers. We develop the hypothesis that the interaction of slow growth and increased early-life mortality is an important cause of the decline of Colorado squawfish in the upper basin. We use a growth-rate versus temperature relation for Colorado squawfish to compare temperature regimes of historic and present habitats, and we describe the strong, positive relation between our measure of temperature-regime suitability and first-year growth of Colorado squawfish in upper-basin rivers. The unusually small size of the age-0 fish going into winter might be an important factor affecting recruitment to the adult stock. Simulations showed how the effect of increased early-life mortality can be especially significant on populations of slow-growing fishes. Predation by introduced fishes, as well as other man-induced causes of increased early-life mortality, probably contributed importantly to the decline of Colorado squawfish in the remaining habitat. Management efforts that might help this endangered species to recover include water management to enhance temperatures for growth, and the control of important introduced fishes.

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Migration, Movements and Habitat Preferences of Colorado Squawfish, Ptychocheilus lucius, in the Green, White and Yampa Rivers, Colorado and Utah

Cited by 40 publications

References 6 publications

Fish species composition before and after construction of a main stem reservoir on the White River, Colorado

Fish species composition before and after construction of a main stem reservoir on the White River, Colorado

Battle against extinction: native fish management in the American West

Interaction of slow growth and increased early-life mortality: an hypothesis on the decline of Colorado squawfish in the upstream regions of its historic range

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