Despite successful reproduction by razorback suckers (Xyrauchen texanus) in the middle Green River, recruitment beyond the larval stage has not been recently observed. Bonytail (Gila elegans) are essentially extirpated in the wild and nearly all bonytail present in the Green River are hatchery-stocked fish. Floodplain wetlands may provide important rearing habitat for both larval razorback sucker and bonytail. However, survival of razorback suckers in restored floodplain habitat has not been observed since 1997, even when larvae were introduced directly into floodplain sites. Large nonnative fish populations in floodplain habitats have likely suppressed survival. The recent drought eliminated, or reset, nonnative fish populations in [...]
