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<br />4 <br /> <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />;, <br />I <br />:.1 <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br /> <br />Surveys were conducted each week by boat using a directional hydrophone. The San Juan Arm <br />of Lake Powell is narrow and surveyors stopped at 500-800 m intervals along the channel and in <br />every cove and side canyon to check for signals. Stream sections were monitored while floating <br />downstream. <br /> <br />A GPS grid pattern was designed for Lake Mohave to accommodate its 5 kIn width. Waypoints <br />or "listening stations" (71) were spaced 1,600 m apart to standardize monitoring locations and <br />effort (Figure I). After the second week we increased the number of stops to over 125 <br />locations, and bimonthly, we visited each cove and intensified (100 m intervals) our monitoring <br />of flooded, shoreline vegetation. <br /> <br />When a fish was located the following information was recorded: date, time of day, location <br />determined using GPS and/or maps, relative depth, distance from the shoreline, vegetation, cover <br />type, and hydraulic characteristics (flowing versus slack). Location was recorded in latitude and <br />longitude, river mile, and marked on a map. Water depth was determined visually or by using a <br />fathometer, shoreline distance was estimated (<10 m, 10-50 m, >50 m). Surveys continued for <br />100 days. <br /> <br />We attempted to recapture fish 80 days into the study to assess the attachment technique and to <br />remove the transmitters. Trammel nets were set-on fish found in shallow, calm habitats. <br /> <br />RESULTS <br /> <br />Tracking <br /> <br />Lake Powell Surveys at both study locations began the morning following release. Initially <br />Lake Powell surveys were conducted between RK 51 to RK 85, a distance of roughly 34 kIn. At <br />the time of release, fish access upstream of RK 85 was physically blocked by a 3 m high water <br />fall. <br /> <br />It was impossible to discern individual signal codes when fish were first released due to garbled <br />signals. No cove held fish were detected outside of the enclosures during their period of <br />captivity. All fish had left their release sites after 5 days but many remained in the Castle Creek <br />Canyon complex. Initial contact was made with 23 of the 28 fish (Figure 2). Fish gradually <br />dispersed, with all but three moving upstream. By June 10, the reservoir had risen to a point <br />where the falls was inundated and could be negotiated safely by boat. Rising waters also <br />inundated hundreds of hectares of flooded tamarisk which was impossible to monitor effectively. <br />Submerged vegetation absorbed the sonic signal significantly reducing the signal range in some <br />cases <50 m. During this period the water falls was also inundated and surveys were extended <br />upstream (20 kIn) to Slickhorn Rapids (RKI06) and during the week of August 12, two boat <br />crews searched the entire 106 kIn reach between the confluence of the San Juan and Colorado <br />rivers (RK 0) to Slickhorn Rapids (RK 106). Although the search effort was extensive, no <br />additional fish were found. <br />