Captures of Striped Bass in the Colorado River in Grand Canyon, Arizona

Striped bass (Morone saxatilis) were introduced as a sport fish into the lower Colorado River, California in 1959 and into Lake Mead, Nevada in 1969, with successful reproduction documented in that reservoir in 1973. The species also was introduced into Lake Powell, Utah-Arizona in 1974, with succes...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The Southwestern naturalist 1999-09, Vol.44 (3), p.388-392
Main Authors: Valdez, Richard A., Leibfried, William C.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Anadromous fishes
Canyons
Catadromous fishes
Creeks
Dams
Freshwater
Freshwater bass
Freshwater fishes
Lakes
Morone saxatilis
River water
Streams
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Summary:Striped bass (Morone saxatilis) were introduced as a sport fish into the lower Colorado River, California in 1959 and into Lake Mead, Nevada in 1969, with successful reproduction documented in that reservoir in 1973. The species also was introduced into Lake Powell, Utah-Arizona in 1974, with successful reproduction in 1979 in the Colorado River inflow and along cobble shoals. The natural tendency for these fish to migrate upstream into rivers to spawn has raised concern over possible predation on native riverine fishes, including flannelmouth sucker (Catostomus latipinnis), bluehead sucker (C. discobolus), speckled dace (Rhinichthys osculus), roundtail chub (Gila robusta), endangered humpback chub (G. cypha), razorback sucker (Xyrauchen texanus), Colorado squawfish (Ptychocheilus lucius), and bonytail (G. elegans). Proposals to warm the Colorado River below Glen Canyon Dam (i.e., temperature control structures on the dam and seasonal steady flows) may enhance the capacity for striped bass to move upstream and invade population centers of humpback chub in Grand Canyon. This paper discusses past captures of striped bass in Grand Canyon and the potential for further invasion with proposed temperature modifications.
ISSN:0038-4909