Abstract

AbstractWe studied age‐0 Flathead Chub Platygobio gracilis through two reproductive seasons in Fountain Creek, Colorado, to better understand effects of hatching date, water temperature, and streamflow on daily growth rates. Analysis of laboratory‐reared Flathead Chub of known age confirmed that daily growth increments were deposited in otoliths beginning at hatching and at a rate of one per day thereafter. That information enabled relatively accurate and unbiased estimation of age and daily growth rates of age‐0 fish hatched from May to August in 2012 and 2013. Flathead Chub growth was substantially higher in 2012 than 2013, and in both years, daily growth rate was faster for individuals captured earlier in the year and in warmer water temperatures. Growth was faster during stable low‐flow periods following short‐term flow spikes caused by runoff from thunderstorms but was slower when flows fluctuated over longer periods. Insights into the reproductive ecology and early life history of Flathead Chub, a species imperiled in portions of its range, demonstrated implications of hydrologic alteration on growth of fishes of North American Great Plains streams and may inform strategies to assist in conservation of remaining populations.Received August 24, 2015; accepted February 18, 2016 Published online July 7, 2016

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