Date:

2015-2017

Abstract:

Many desert fishes in the USA are imperiled due to low perceived economic worth and over-allocation of water. Bluehead suckers (Catostomus discobolus), endemic to the Intermountain West, are protected by a multi-state conservation agreement. The Weber River (northern Utah) bluehead sucker population is one of few outside of the Colorado River basin and is currently small and likely declining due to a recruitment bottleneck. Over-allocation of water and the subsequent degradation of in-stream habitat have resulted in a lack of slow-velocity habitat within the optimal thermal range for bluehead sucker. Our objectives are to determine whether spawning and rearing habitat (thermal and physical) available in the Weber River may be limiting bluehead sucker recruitment, and identify options for restoration accordingly. We are using reach-based surveys to locate and quantify spawning habitat in the Weber River and Ferron Creek (central Utah), a relatively unaltered reference river. Additionally, we are sampling backwaters near spawning reaches for juvenile sucker and surveying habitat characteristics. For a mechanistic understanding, we are conducting laboratory experiments to evaluate the growth response of juvenile bluehead sucker to different temperature and velocity treatments. By evaluating factors that may limit bluehead sucker recruitment, this study will provide a template for future restoration efforts directed at recovering this imperiled population.

Funding:

• Utah Division of Wildlife Resources
• City of Ogden
• Davis and Weber Counties Canal Company
• PacifiCorp
• Provo River Water Users Association
• Trout Unlimited
• Weber Basin Water Conservancy District
• Weber River Water Users Association
• Utah State University Ecology Center
• US Department of the Interior – Bureau of Reclamation
• US Geological Survey – Utah Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit (in-kind)

Investigators:

• Phaedra Budy, Principal Investigator, USGS – UCFWRU – Dept. of Watershed Sciences
• Jereme Gaeta, Co-PI, USU - Dept. of Watershed Sciences and the Ecology Center
• Bryan Maloney, M.S. Candidate, USU - Dept. of Watershed Sciences and the Ecology Center