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<br />VIII. FY 93 Tasks and Deliverables: <br /> <br />. Select existing late larval and early juvenile sucker or chub specimens from <br />collections housed. at the larval Fish laboratory. <br /> <br />. Analyze these specimens to determine their specific identity using diagnostic <br />morphological criteria. <br /> <br />. If young razorback sucker or humpback chub are identified, obtain capture <br />information from researchers that collected the fish. <br /> <br />. Relate collections to capture infonnation and information on annual/seasonal <br />environmental conditions. <br /> <br />. Prepare report. <br /> <br />IX. Accomplishments/lnitial Findings and Shortcomings: <br /> <br />This study has not yet been completed. Work did not begin until late July <br />1993 due to delays in finalizing the contract which delayed hiring of technicians to <br />assist in analyses. Completion of this study is planned for March 1994. <br />To date, approximately 500 sucker specimens and 300 chub specimens have <br />been pulled from existing collections; late larvae and early juveniles. Most had been <br />collected from reaches of the middle and lower Green River, Utah, during <br />summer-fall in 1986-1992. Meristic data (primarily fin-ray counts) have been <br />compiled on these specimens. Analysis of these data is ongoing. Once meristic <br />data have been analyzed, possible. razorback sucker or humpback chub specimens <br />will be.selected for further analyses. Soft-tissue clearing and skeletal staining of <br />sucker specimens will be conducted for examination of size and shape of interneural <br />bones and the frontoparietal fontanelle. These features are diagnostic for separating <br />young razorback, flannel mouth, bluehead, and white suckers (Snyder, D. E., and R. <br />T. Muth. 1990. Descriptions and identification of razorback, flanne/mouth, white, <br />Utah, bluehead, and mountain sucker larvae and early juveniles. Technical <br />Publication No. 38, Colorado Division of Wildlife, Fort Collins). Morphometric <br />analyses will be conducted on chub specimens following diagnostic criteria for <br />separating young humpback, bonytail, and roundtail chubs (Muth, R. T. 1990. <br />Ontogeny and taxonomy of humpback chub, bonytail, and roundtail chub larvae and <br />early juveniles. Ph.D. dissertation. Colorado State University, Fort Collins). If young <br />razorback sucker or humpback chub are identified, capture infonnation will be <br />requested from researchers that made the collections. These data will be related to <br />infonnation on environmental" conditions during the year or season of collection. <br /> <br />X. Status of Data Submission: NA. <br /> <br />3 <br />