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lower Virgin River. These authors also made an important observation that showed that <br />dietary overlaps between woundfm and nonnative red shiners (Cyprinella lutrensis) changed <br />directly with abundance of food. Dietary overlaps were greatest when food was abundant <br />and less evident during periods of low food availability. <br />Some information on the reproductive biology of woundfm is presented by Peters (1970), <br />Greger and Deacon (1982), and from recent reseazch conducted at Dexter NFHTC. The <br />reproductive cycle of the woundfm appears to be initiated by some combination of increasing <br />water temperatures, lengthening daylight, and declining spring runoff. It would appear <br />advantageous for woundfm to spawn as the high spring runoff is declining because eggs <br />spawned prior to this would likely be carried away by the current or buried in silt. Limited <br />spawning may occur in sheltered areas during high spring flows. <br />Gonad maturation has been documented in March, April, and May (Peters 1970), and larvae <br />have appeared in May, June, July, and August (Cross 1975, Deacon 1977a, Hickman 1987b, <br />Hazdy et al. 1989). Spawning occurs during April to July depending on the timing of the <br />snowmelt runoff; late summer spawning in August has also been observed (Hickman 1987a, <br />Hardy et al. 1989). This second spawn may consist of late maturing adults and be <br />precipitated by increased flows associated with Late summer thunderstorm events (Virgin <br />River Fishes Data Base). Deacon and Hardy (1984) and Hardy et al. (1989) found that <br />spawning success increased as the magnitude of flows during the spawning period increased <br />from 2.83 to 22.66 cubic meters per second (m3/s) [100 to 800 cubic feet per second (cfs)]. <br />Observations by Deacon (1977a) indicate woundfin in downstream reaches of the Virgin <br />River begin spawning more than- one month earlier than fish in the upper reaches near La <br />Verkin Creek. This variation of spawning time is probably related to warmer water <br />temperatures downstream. <br />In 1977, the fast appearance of young woundfm in the lower river occurred in early June <br />and in the upper river in late July. Deacon (1977a) reported apparent spawning activities on <br />April 17, 1977, in the Virgin River south of Mesquite, Nevada, when the water temperature <br />was 14.5°C (59°F). Greger and Deacon (1982) observed spawning behavior in an artificial <br />stream at water temperatures ranging from 20 to 25°C (68 to 77°F). These investigators <br />observed spawning behavior similaz to Lockhart and Schumann as reported by Deacon <br />(1977a). A female would leave a pool to join a group of males in swifter flowing water over <br />cobble to gravel-sized substrates. Following spawning, the female returned to the pool. <br />Hickman (1987b) noted that gravid females congregated in deeper water adjacent to riffle <br />habitats during spawning periods. <br />Greger and Deacon (1982) found that spawning in an artificial stream system occurred at <br />velocities from 0.06 to 0.09 m/sec (0.20 to 0.30 ft/s) and at depths ranging from 0.07 to <br />0.10 m (0.23 to 0.33 ft). The choice of substrates appeared to be fairly specific to cobble or <br />gravel. When larvae appear they are generally found in shallow areas lateral to the main <br />current. Larvae are less abundant in pools containing,predators such as mosquitofish <br />(GamBusia aff~nis), green sunfish (Lepomis cyanellus), largemouth bass (Micropterus <br />19 <br />