As some of you may already know, one of the primary reasons for the decline of Mohave tui chub (MTC) within their native habitat is due to its hybridization with another species of chub, the Arroyo Chub (AC). AC
were once common within several Southern California coastal watersheds. It has been documented that Arroyo Chub started showing up in head water tributaries of the Mojave River by the 1930's. This could be due to a variety of reasons:
- Fisherman fishing these water released AC as a bait fish,
- AC were included as food source along with plants of hatchery raised fish that were being introduced into streams throughout San Bernardino county as early as 1920, or
- AC were mixed in with mosquito fish when the later were being added to various water bodies for mosquito abatement.
Below are some links to documents that might prove helpful in drawing your own conclusions:- A History of California's Fish Hatcheries
- .pdf of the original document cited above
- An except about the the history of Bear Lake / Green Spot Springs Hatchery, 1914-1932
- An except about the the history of Forest Home Hatchery, 1917-1940
- An except about the the history of Mojave River Hatchery, 1947-present
- State of California Game Commission's 26th Biannual Report for the period of 1918-1920
- In the same report an observation of "minnows" (possibly AC) being in Big Bear Lake,
- California Fish and Game, "Conservation of wildlife through education", Volume 7 Sacramento, January 1921, Number 1, Hatchery Notes
- Fishes of the Santa Ana River System in 1917: 84 Years Ago by George B. Culver & Carl L. Hubbs, Compiled by Robert 'Roy' J. van de Hoek Field Biologist & Geographer Sierra Club & Wetlands Action Network
- Ecology of Teleost Fishes
- Chapter 4 – Potentially Vulnerable Species: Animals
- More to follow...
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