Humpback chub facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Humpback chub |
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| Conservation status | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Genus: |
Gila
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| Species: |
cypha
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The humpback chub (Gila cypha) is a special fish found in the Colorado River system in the United States. It is a protected species, meaning it needs help to survive. This fish gets its name from a big hump on its back, right behind its head. This hump helps the fish swim steadily in the fast-moving river currents.
The humpback chub has a very smooth body with almost no scales. It has a thin tail and a deeply forked tail fin, which helps it move quickly. Its back is light olive-gray, its sides are silver, and its belly is white. This fish can grow up to 38 centimeters (about 15 inches) long.
Contents
What Does It Look Like?
The humpback chub has a body shaped like a torpedo, which helps it glide through water. Its head slopes down to a thin, pencil-like tail. Most of its scales are hidden deep in its skin, especially on its hump. The fins are large and curved. Its mouth is on the underside of its head, covered by its snout.
Where Does It Live?
The humpback chub used to live in many parts of the Colorado River and its branches. This included areas in Arizona, Utah, Colorado, and Wyoming. Today, this fish lives in only six main places. These include parts of the Colorado and Little Colorado rivers in the Grand Canyon, Arizona. Other groups live in different sections of the Colorado and Green rivers in Utah and Colorado.
What Is Its Home Like?
Humpback chubs usually live in fast-flowing, rocky parts of big rivers. Young fish like shallow, calm pools near the riverbanks. As they grow bigger, they move to deeper, faster waters. Adult chubs often hang out in large swirling areas of the river called eddy complexes. These fish seem to be more active at night.
What Does It Eat?
The humpback chub mainly eats small water creatures called invertebrates. Sometimes, it also eats other small fish. They can find food anywhere from the bottom of the river to the surface.
Life Cycle and Reproduction
Humpback chubs lay their eggs from April to June, when the water is warm (about 19-21°C or 66-70°F). During this time, male chubs grow small bumps called nuptial tubercles on their heads and fins. They lay their eggs in calmer parts of the river, usually over rocks or boulders. Young fish stay close to the shore in quiet, sometimes cloudy, water.
Population Trends
It's hard to know exactly how many humpback chubs there were long ago. But their numbers have dropped a lot, especially after dams were built on the Colorado River. For example, the Glen Canyon Dam changed the river's flow and temperature, which hurt the fish.
However, there's good news! In 2008, scientists estimated there were between 6,000 and 10,000 humpback chubs in the Grand Canyon. This was a big increase from 2001. It seems that special floods created by people and warmer water from droughts helped the population grow.
Protecting the Humpback Chub
The humpback chub is an endangered species, which means it's at risk of disappearing forever. Many efforts are being made to protect it.
- Main Problems:
- Dams change how the river flows and make the water too cold.
- Fish that are not native to the river eat the chubs or compete for food.
- Parasites can make the chubs sick.
- What Is Being Done?:
- Scientists are trying to lessen the bad effects of dams.
- They are removing non-native fish and controlling parasites.
- They are also watching the chub populations closely.
- It's important to make sure different groups of chubs don't become too separated by dams.
Special areas of the Colorado River, totaling 379 miles, were set aside as "Critical Habitat" for the humpback chub in 1994. The Grand Canyon Protection Act of 1992 also helped by making sure the water released from Glen Canyon Dam didn't change too quickly.
After many dams were built, the Little Colorado River became a very important place for the humpback chub in the Grand Canyon. Now, another group of chubs is being started in Shinumo Creek, which is another small river that flows into the Colorado River. In 2009, 300 young chubs were released there, and more were added in the following years.
Scientists have also tried releasing large amounts of water from Glen Canyon Dam. These "fake floods" are meant to copy natural floods that used to happen. The first big flood was in 1996. It released enough water to fill a huge skyscraper in 20 minutes! The idea was to rebuild sandbars and calm areas where the fish could live. At first, it seemed to work, but then the river went back to normal, and the new habitats slowly disappeared. Other floods have been tried since, but the results haven't been as good as hoped.
Even with these challenges, the number of humpback chubs in the Grand Canyon has gone up recently. Scientists think removing non-native fish near the Little Colorado River might have helped. Also, droughts have lowered Lake Powell's water level, making the water released from Glen Canyon Dam warmer. Normally, this water is too cold for the chubs to have babies.
See also
In Spanish: Gila cypha para niños
