Use of Inflow Areas in Two Colorado River Basin Reservoirs by the Endangered Razorback Sucker (<i>Xyrauchen texanus</i>)

Albrecht, Brandon; Mohn, Harrison E.; Kegerries, Ron B.; McKinstry, Mark C.; Rogers, Ron J.; Francis, Travis A.; Hines, Brian A.; Stolberg, James R.; Ryden, Dale W.; Elverud, Darek S.; Schleicher, Benjamin J.; Creighton, Katherine; Healy, Brian D.; Senger, Brandon

doi:10.3398/064.077.0410

Cited by 22 publications

(45 citation statements)

References 23 publications

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“…When a novel fish predator is introduced into an aquatic system, extirpation of the native fish typically occurs if the range of the new predator and prey overlap completely and if native prey do not possess physiological, morphological, or behavioral attributes that in combination with specific environmental features allow some individuals to avoid predation (Matter and Mannan 2005). At the inflows of Lake Powell and Lake Mead, the specific habitat feature of high turbidity may be allowing juvenile Razorback Suckers and Humpback Chub to recruit in those respective locations despite a robust population of introduced warm-water predators (Albrecht et al 2010(Albrecht et al , 2017Van Haverbeke et al 2017). The combination of elevated turbidity at these river inflows ( Figure 5), which decreases predation vulnerability to sight feeding predators, and the current lack of Flathead Catfish in those reservoirs, may be responsible for recent patterns of juvenile Razorback Sucker recruitment at these locations, although other catfish species such as Channel Catfish Ictalurus punctatus, Black Bullhead Figure 4.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

What Environmental Conditions Reduce Predation Vulnerability for Juvenile Colorado River Native Fishes?

Ward

Vaage

2018

Journal of Fish and Wildlife Management

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The incompatibility of native Colorado River fishes and nonnative warm-water sport fishes is well documented, with predation by nonnative species causing rapid declines and even extirpation of native species in most locations. In a few rare instances, native fishes can survive and recruit despite the presence of nonnative warm-water predators, indicating that specific environmental conditions may help reduce predation vulnerability. We experimented with turbidity, artificial blue water colorant (artificial turbidity pond treatment), woody debris, rocks, and aquatic vegetation in a laboratory setting to determine whether any of these types of cover could reduce predation vulnerability and confer survival advantages for juvenile Bonytail Gila elegans (mean = 70 mm total length), Roundtail Chub Gila robusta (mean = 35 mm total length), Humpback Chub Gila cypha (mean = 67 mm total length), and Razorback Sucker Xyrauchen texanus (mean = 74 mm total length). We exposed selected species of juvenile native fishes to predation by adult Largemouth Bass Micropterus salmoides, Smallmouth Bass Micropterus dolomieu, Green Sunfish Lepomis cyanellus, Flathead Catfish Pylodictis olivaris, and Black Bullhead Ameiurus melas in overnight trials. Razorback Suckers served as prey in trials conducted with Largemouth Bass and Black Bullhead. Bonytail served as prey in trials conducted with Largemouth Bass and Flathead Catfish. Roundtail Chub served as prey in trials conducted with Smallmouth Bass and Green Sunfish. We matched sizes of predator and prey so that the maximum body depth of the prey never exceeded 40% of the maximum anatomical gape of the predators. Turbidity of 500 nephlometric turbidity units reduced effectiveness of sight-feeding predators such as Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, and Green Sunfish by up to 50% but also increased predation vulnerability to non–sight-feeding predators (Flathead Catfish and Black Bullhead) by up to 55%. Turbidity was the only treatment that significantly altered predation mortality of native fish. These results may help explain recent patterns of wild juvenile native fish recruitment to adult life stages at the Colorado River inflow in to Lake Mead and at the inflow of the San Juan River into Lake Powell. Both areas possess abundant introduced predatory fishes but are also very turbid.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

What Environmental Conditions Reduce Predation Vulnerability for Juvenile Colorado River Native Fishes?

Ward

Vaage

2018

Journal of Fish and Wildlife Management

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“…Razorback sucker often spawn on the ascending limb of the hydrograph from mid‐March through June at water temperatures between 9°C and 17°C (Tyus & Karp, ). Successful recruitment to adulthood has only been documented in Lake Mead, and we do not understand how reservoir‐dwelling razorback sucker life histories may interact with inflowing rivers (Albrecht et al, ; Albrecht, Holden, Kegerries, & Golden, ; Marsh, Dowling, Kesner, Turner, & Minckley, ). Lake Powell is both a movement corridor connecting the Upper Colorado River and San Juan River basins and a habitat for razorback sucker that are known to make substantial downstream movements after stocking or during larval drift (Albrecht et al, ; Durst & Francis, ; Zelasko, Bestgen, & White, ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Successful recruitment to adulthood has only been documented in Lake Mead, and we do not understand how reservoir‐dwelling razorback sucker life histories may interact with inflowing rivers (Albrecht et al, ; Albrecht, Holden, Kegerries, & Golden, ; Marsh, Dowling, Kesner, Turner, & Minckley, ). Lake Powell is both a movement corridor connecting the Upper Colorado River and San Juan River basins and a habitat for razorback sucker that are known to make substantial downstream movements after stocking or during larval drift (Albrecht et al, ; Durst & Francis, ; Zelasko, Bestgen, & White, ). Current management for both species involves stocking (Zelasko et al, ), mimicking natural flow regimes (Propst & Gido, ), and removing nonnative fishes (Franssen, Davis, Ryden, & Gido, ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Waterfall formation at a desert river–reservoir delta isolates endangered fishes

Cathcart

Pennock

Cheek

et al. 2018

River Research & Apps

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Unforeseen interactions of dams and declining water availability have formed new obstacles to recovering endemic and endangered big‐river fishes. During a recent trend of drying climate and declining reservoir water levels in the Southwestern United States, a large waterfall has formed on two separate occasions (1989–1995 and 2001–present) in the transition zone between the San Juan River and Lake Powell reservoir because of deposited sediments. Since recovery plans for two large‐bodied endangered fish species, razorback sucker (Xyrauchen texanus) and Colorado pikeminnow (Ptychocheilus lucius), include annual stockings in the San Juan River, this waterfall potentially blocks upstream movement of individuals that moved downstream from the river into the reservoir. To quantify the temporal variation in abundance of endangered fishes aggregating downstream of the waterfall and determine population demographics, we remotely monitored and sampled in spring 2015, 2016, and 2017 when these fish were thought to move upstream to spawn. Additionally, we used an open population model applied to tagged fish detected in 2017 to estimate population sizes. Colorado pikeminnow were so infrequently encountered (<30 individuals) that population estimates were not performed. Razorback sucker captures from sampling (335), and detections from remote monitoring (943) showed high abundance across all 3 years. The razorback sucker population estimate for 2017 alone was 755 individuals and, relative to recent population estimates ranging from ~2,000 to ~4,000 individuals, suggests that a substantial population exists seasonally downstream of this barrier. Barriers to fish movement in rivers above reservoirs are not unique; thus, the formation of this waterfall exemplifies how water development and hydrology can interact to cause unforeseen changes to a riverscape.

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“…For instance, nearly 624,000 individuals have been stocked across the upper Colorado River basin from 2002 to 2019 (STReaMS 2020). Razorback Sucker use a wide variety of habitat types including main-stem rivers, tributaries, offchannel wetlands, and reservoirs in the Colorado River basin (Bottcher et al 2013;Albrecht et al 2018;Cathcart et al 2019). Razorback Sucker are thought to spawn over sand, gravel, and cobble during the ascending limb of spring runoff in main-stem rivers (Tyus 1987;Tyus and Karp 1990;Bestgen et al 2011) and also spawn in reservoirs on shallow, flat, wave-washed shorelines over clean gravel (Minckley 1983;Bozek et al 1991).…”

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confidence: 99%

Razorback Sucker Movement Strategies across a River–Reservoir Habitat Complex

2020

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Razorback Sucker Xyrauchen texanus occur in reservoir and riverine habitats in the Colorado River basin, with some individuals aggregating at river–reservoir inflows. To assess use of inflow areas and potential environmental correlates with fish movement among reservoir and river habitats, we used a passive receiver array to monitor location and movements (n = 69) and depth (n = 19) of acoustic‐ and PIT‐tagged fish in Lake Powell from April 2018 to March 2019. Acoustic receivers were deployed along 18 km of the San Juan River–Lake Powell inflow area, and a PIT tag antenna was deployed below a waterfall that impedes all upstream movement approximately 30 km upstream of the inflow area. Fish were detected moving between the inflow area and the river in all seasons except winter. Fifty‐eight percent of fish moved from the reservoir and were detected upstream at the waterfall, while 42% of fish appeared to remain within the reservoir. These reservoir‐resident fish moved long distances (hundreds of kilometers) but had relatively small linear home ranges (<18 km). On average, fish moved farthest and home range size was largest from April to September, and seasonal differences corresponded with differences in the number of fish detected. River discharge was relatively constant, and monthly distance moved was positively correlated with monthly river temperature, suggesting temperature alone might cue movements. Fish were detected at depths of 5.7 m but generally remained in shallow water (<2 m). Causal mechanisms that drive habitat use by adult fish are unclear but likely involve intraspecific differences in response to resource needs. We hypothesize that reservoirs provide warmer temperatures for longer periods of the year relative to regulated rivers, which might benefit warmwater fishes. Understanding the importance of movement among river and reservoir habitats might further conservation efforts by encouraging inclusion of reservoir habitats in management plans.

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Use of Inflow Areas in Two Colorado River Basin Reservoirs by the Endangered Razorback Sucker (Xyrauchen texanus)

Cited by 22 publications

References 23 publications

What Environmental Conditions Reduce Predation Vulnerability for Juvenile Colorado River Native Fishes?

What Environmental Conditions Reduce Predation Vulnerability for Juvenile Colorado River Native Fishes?

Waterfall formation at a desert river–reservoir delta isolates endangered fishes

Razorback Sucker Movement Strategies across a River–Reservoir Habitat Complex

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