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<br />336 , <br /> <br />COPEIA, 1993, NO.2 <br /> <br /> <br /> <br />LITTLE COLORADO <br />RIVER AND <br />CONFLUENCE AREA <br /> <br />% <br /> <br />I>' <br /> <br />t <br /> <br />o 2 <br />'--'---' <br />Kilometers <br /> <br />Fig. 2. Map depicting the LillIe Colorado River <br />(Navajo Indian Reservation, Coconino County, Ari- <br />zona), at its confluence with the Colorado River (Grand <br />Canyon National Park. Coconino County. Arizona). <br /> <br />relates to the unusual anterodorsal (nuchal) <br />hump (Fig. I B); and (2) to perform this evalu- <br />ation using image-analysis technology, which <br />permits rare and/or endangered fish to be cap- <br />tured, filmed, and released unharmed. The hy- <br />pothesis under test in this report is that sexual <br />dimorphism is morphologically pervasive in G. <br />typha, with the distinct nuchal hump of this spe- <br />cies its primary focus. <br /> <br />METHODS AND MATERIALS <br /> <br />Collection of video i1llages.-Gila typha were col- <br />lected with hoop and trammel nets by Arizona <br />Game and Fish Department (AZGF) during two <br />time periods: in May 1988 at the confluence of <br />the Colorado and Little Colorado rivers (GCNP), <br />and in May ] 989 at the confluence and in the <br />Little Colorado River 11 km upstream from the <br />confluence (Navajo Indian Reservation: see Fig. <br />2). Adult humpback chub (i.e., those greater <br />than 230 mm TL) were immersed in a 19-1iter <br />bucket of river water treated with MS-222 (San- <br />doz Laboratories). Comatose fish were either <br />Carlin or PIT tagged and sexed using external <br /> <br /> <br />Fig. 3. Use of camcorder to film Gila cypha along <br />shore of the Little Colorado River (Navajo Indian <br />Reservation, Coconino County, Arizona. <br /> <br />morphology of the urogenital papillus (Suttkus <br />and Clemmer, ] 977:4; B. L. Jensen, USFWS, <br />pers. comm.). Chubs were then rewetted and <br />placed onto a styrofoam board (50 x 30 cm; <br />Fig. 3) that had been previously spray painted <br />a neutral color and indented with a shallow de- <br />pression for the body of the fish. A 10-cm rule <br />was placed beside the fish to provide scale. Dor- <br />sal and anal fins were quickly spread and pinned <br />using insect pins, and the chub was filmed for <br />approximately 10 sec (Fig. 3), using a 16mm <br />camcorder (General Electric model 9-9808 SE <br />with a 7-lux low light capability and an auto- <br />matic focus 6: 1 zoom lens). Fish were then re- <br />turned to a ] 9-liter bucket of fresh river water, <br />maintained there until they revived (i.e., were <br />able to right themselves and respond to stimuli), <br />and were then released back into the river. <br /> <br />Capture of video images.-Video images were <br />copied from tape and analyzed at Arizona State <br />University (ASU), Tempe. The image analysis <br />system consisted of a Zenith 12 mhz 80286 mi- <br />c'roprocessor with Intel 80287 math coproces- <br />sor, SO-megabyte hard drive, and Mountain <br />Filesafe TD-4000 (40 megabyte) tape backup. <br />A NEC Multi-Sync monitor was used for image <br />