| Utah chub | |
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Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Actinopterygii |
| Order: | Cypriniformes |
| Family: | Cyprinidae |
| Genus: | Gila |
| Species: | G. atraria |
| Binomial name | |
| Gila atraria (Girard, 1856) | |
The Utah chub (Gila atraria) is a cyprinid fish native to western United States, where it is abundant in the upper Snake River basin and the Bonneville basin.
The dorsal fin of the Utah chub contains nine rays and is located directly over the pelvic fins. [2] Coloration of this species is variable; the dorsal side is generally olive-green ranging to nearly black, and sometimes with a bluish shade, while the sides are silvery, brassy, or golden. Males have somewhat more of a golden look, especially during spawning season, often including a narrow golden stripe along the upper side. [2] Fin colors include olive-green, yellow, and golden shades. A maximum total length of 56 cm (22 in) and weight of 1,360 g (48 oz) was reported from Bear Lake, but sizes of 15–20 cm (5.9–7.9 in) are more typical in many locations. [3] Age estimates on pectoral rays and otoliths suggest that Utah chub can live over 10 years. [3] [4] In most populations, a majority of Utah chub are under seven years old. [5]
The native range of Utah chub includes the Snake River basin in Idaho and Wyoming and the Bonneville basin in Utah and Idaho. [2] The Utah chub has been introduced elsewhere, including various reservoirs in the Colorado River basin of Utah and Wyoming and to the upper Missouri River basin of Montana. [6] Most Utah chub introductions are thought to be the product of angler bait bucket release. [6]
Utah chub are omnivorous with highly plastic diets, consuming plants, algae, and a variety of aquatic invertebrates such as dipterans, chironomids, zooplankton, and crustaceans. [7] [8] When abundant, zooplankton such as Daphnia comprise a majority of diet. [8] [9]
Utah chub can be found in a variety of habitats, from irrigation ditches to large rivers and lakes. [10] Within these systems, they prefer areas with dense vegetation. [2] This species is also tolerant to extreme environmental conditions such as high alkalinity. [3]
Broadcast spawning occurs in shallow water during late spring and summer, when water temperatures are around 10–15 °C (50–59 °F). [3] Peak spawning activity occurs around 16 °C (61 °F). During the spawn, 2–6 male fish escort each female, and externally fertilize deposited eggs on the lake or river bottom. The eggs hatch in about one week, with hatch time depending on water temperature.
Although easily captured while fishing, most anglers do not consider Utah chub a desirable catch and may find it a nuisance while targeting gamefish. However, Utah chub are occasionally used as bait to catch other piscivorous gamefish. [10] Their usage as live bait has resulted in numerous illegal introductions outside their native range, [6] and has caused states such as Utah and Wyoming to outlaw the use of live Utah chub as bait. [11] [12]
Populations of Utah chub, both native and introduced, are generally viewed as nuisance due to competition with stocked gamefish such as rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss). [8] [13] Additionally, introduction of Utah chub may pose a threat to native fish through competition or introduction of disease. [14] However, in contrast to observed effects on rainbow trout populations, competitive interactions between an invasive population of Utah chub and Yellowstone cutthroat trout (Oncorhynchus clarkii bouvieri) were not identified in Henrys Lake, Idaho. [15]
State wildlife agencies such as the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources have used reclamation projects on various lakes and reservoirs to eliminate or greatly reduce populations of Utah chub. [13] [16] A majority of reclamation projects are completed using the piscicide rotenone. Although these projects can be successful, they are expensive and may not be a viable long-term management solution, as Utah chub populations may persist or be illegally reintroduced after treatment. [13] [16] [17] Additionally, rotenone reclamation projects are often unpopular with the public, [18] [19] which may limit their appeal as a repeated management tool. Some efforts to reduce Utah chub population size have included top-down control by stocking predatory fish such as walleye (Sander vitreus), [20] tiger muskellunge (Esox masquinongy × lucius), [21] and cutthroat trout (Oncorhynchus clarkii). [7] [17] These methods have also proven effective at controlling Utah chub, in some cases extirpating populations; however, this strategy may result in the establishment of predatory fish outside their native range. [20]
Trout is a generic common name for numerous species of carnivorous freshwater ray-finned fishes belonging to the genera Oncorhynchus, Salmo and Salvelinus, all of which are members of the subfamily Salmoninae in the family Salmonidae. The word trout is also used for some similar-shaped but non-salmonid fish, such as the spotted seatrout/speckled trout.
The rainbow trout is a species of trout native to cold-water tributaries of the Pacific Ocean in North America and Asia. The steelhead is an anadromous (sea-run) form of the coastal rainbow trout(O. m. irideus) or Columbia River redband trout (O. m. gairdneri) that usually returns to freshwater to spawn after living two to three years in the ocean. Freshwater forms that have been introduced into the Great Lakes and migrate into tributaries to spawn are also called steelhead.
The cutthroat trout(Oncorhynchus clarkii) is a fish species of the family Salmonidae native to cold-water tributaries of the Pacific Ocean, Rocky Mountains, and Great Basin in North America. As a member of the genus Oncorhynchus, it is one of the Pacific trout, a group that includes the widely distributed rainbow trout. Cutthroat trout are popular gamefish, especially among anglers who enjoy fly fishing. The common name "cutthroat" refers to the distinctive red coloration on the underside of the lower jaw. The specific name clarkii was given to honor explorer William Clark, coleader of the Lewis and Clark Expedition.
The Bonneville cutthroat trout is a subspecies of cutthroat trout native to tributaries of the Great Salt Lake and Sevier Lake. Most of the fish's current and historic range is in Utah, but they are also found in Idaho, Wyoming, and Nevada. This is one of 14 or so recognized subspecies of cutthroat trout native to the western United States.
The Price River is a 137-mile-long (220 km) southeastward flowing river in Carbon, Utah and Emery counties in eastern Utah. It is a tributary to the Green River, itself a tributary to the Colorado River.
Lahontan cutthroat trout is the largest subspecies of cutthroat trout and the state fish of Nevada. It is one of three subspecies of cutthroat trout that are listed as federally threatened.
The Yellowstone cutthroat trout is a subspecies of the cutthroat trout. It is a freshwater fish in the salmon family. Native only to a few U.S. states, their original range was upstream of Shoshone Falls on the Snake River and tributaries in Wyoming, also across the Continental Divide in Yellowstone Lake and in the Yellowstone River as well as its tributaries downstream to the Tongue River in Montana. The species is also found in Idaho, Utah and Nevada.
Strawberry Reservoir is a large reservoir in the U.S. state of Utah. It is Utah's most popular fishery, receiving over 1.5 million angling hours annually and is part of the Blue Ribbon Fisheries program. Game fish in the reservoir include sterilized rainbow trout, bear lake cutthroat trout, kokanee salmon and crayfish. It is located 23 miles (37 km) southeast of Heber, Utah on U.S. Route 40. The reservoir is situated in Strawberry Valley. This valley is normally part of the Colorado River drainage. The dam was constructed to divert water into Utah Valley.
The westslope cutthroat trout, also known as the black-spotted trout, common cutthroat trout and red-throated trout is a subspecies of the cutthroat trout and is a freshwater fish in the salmon family of order Salmoniformes. The cutthroat is the Montana state fish. This subspecies is a species of concern in its Montana and British Columbia ranges and is considered threatened in its native range in Alberta.
The tiger trout is a sterile, intergeneric hybrid of the brown trout and the brook trout. Pronounced vermiculations in the fish's patterning gave rise to its name, evoking the stripes of a tiger. Tiger trout are a rare anomaly in the wild, as the parent species are relatively unrelated, being members of different genera and possessing mismatched numbers of chromosomes. However, specialized hatchery rearing techniques are able to produce tiger trout reliably enough to meet the demands of stocking programs.
The humpback chub is a federally protected fish that lived originally in fast waters of the Colorado River system in the United States. This species takes its name from the prominent hump between the head and dorsal fin, which is thought to direct the flow of water over the body and help maintain body position in the swift currents of the Colorado river. The body is almost entirely scaleless, retaining only about 80 mid-lateral scales along the lateral line. The fish is very streamlined, with a thin caudal peduncle and a deeply forked tail. The back is a light olive gray, the sides silver, and the belly white. The dorsal fin usually has nine rays, and the anal fin 10 or more. Maximum recorded length is 38 cm.
The coastal cutthroat trout, also known as the sea-run cutthroat trout, blue-back trout or harvest trout, is one of the several subspecies of cutthroat trout found in Western North America. The coastal cutthroat trout occurs in four distinct forms. A semi-anadromous or sea-run form is the most well known. Freshwater forms occur in both large and small rivers and streams and lake environments. The native range of the coastal cutthroat trout extends south from the southern coastline of the Kenai Peninsula in Alaska to the Eel River in Northern California. Coastal cutthroat trout are resident in tributary streams and rivers of the Pacific basin and are rarely found more than 100 miles (160 km) from the ocean.
The bonytail chub or bonytail is a cyprinid freshwater fish native to the Colorado River basin of Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming in the southwestern United States; it has been extirpated from the part of the basin in Mexico. It was once abundant and widespread in the basin, its numbers and range have declined to the point where it has been listed as endangered since 1980 (ESA) and 1986 (IUCN), a fate shared by the other large Colorado basin endemic fish species like the Colorado pikeminnow, humpback chub, and razorback sucker. It is now the rarest of the endemic big-river fishes of the Colorado River. There are 20 species in the genus Gila, seven of which are found in Arizona.
The Rio Grande cutthroat trout, a member of the family Salmonidae, is found in northern New Mexico and southern Colorado in tributaries of the Rio Grande.
The cutbow is an interspecific fertile hybrid between rainbow trout and cutthroat trout. While natural separation of spawning habitat limited hybridization in most native populations of rainbow and cutthroat trout, introduction of non-native hatchery-raised rainbow trout into native cutthroat trout range increased hybridization across the landscape. Due to these introductions, many populations of cutthroat trout are at risk of genetic pollution. As a result, significant management intervention at state and federal levels has occurred to preserve native populations of cutthroat trout.
Spooner Lake is a man-made reservoir located just north of the intersection of Highway 50 and Highway 28 near Spooner Summit, a pass in the Carson Range of the Sierra Nevada leading to Carson City, Nevada from Lake Tahoe. It is located in Lake Tahoe – Nevada State Park.
Fishing in Colorado has brought in a large amount of revenue for the state. In 2019 Colorado Parks and Wildlife estimated outdoor recreation contributed roughly 62 billion dollars to the state economy. Fishing was reported to be the 5th most popular outdoor activity and 110, 511 fishing and hunting combination licenses were sold. Ice fishing makes up part of this total fishing revenue and is a common annual sport for Colorado residents and out-of-state visitors. There is no legal definition of ice fishing season. Rather, people begin to ice fish once the lakes freeze over with thick enough ice. Colorado Parks and Wildlife also recommend that people always ice-fish with another person. Typically, this starts in December and ends in April for Colorado. Lakes size, depth, elevation, and seasonal weather can cause variance to the season. Once the lakes freeze over with thick enough ice, anglers go out onto the ice, drill holes through the ice, and fish for a variety of species.
| Authority control databases: National |
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