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<br />,1.,< .. <br /> <br />Dietary Samples. The gut contents of30 fish were collected (photo 8). The 20 fish <br />collected just prior to dawn contained the most material. Samples have not been fully <br />examined but it was obvious they contained crayfish, remains of small fish, vegetation, <br />and small particle debris. The ten fish examined just after dusk contained very little gut <br />contents. We recovered tapeworm contents from 4 (13%) ofthe 30 fish. <br /> <br />We occasionally found dead fish. One razorback male was found during the spawning <br />season and there was no apparent reason for its death. I observed a tuberculate and <br />highly fungused male during the telemetry study. The fish spent about 10 min on the <br />surface next to the boat. It appeared the fish was curious about the hydrophone. Fivc <br />dead adults (1 BT, 4 RZB) were found during the week of July 22. Again the fish <br />showed no external evidence of disease, parasites, or wounds. These fish had not bloated <br />and appeared to have died recently. The single BT was a telemetry study fish that still <br />retained its transmitter. The cable ties had left a wound, similar to those fish collected <br /> <br /> <br />Photo 7. Larval razorback sucker intestinal <br />track filled with 25 daphnia (note eye spots). <br /> <br /> <br />Photo 8. Gut contents of an adult <br />bonytail being flushed into a pan. <br /> <br />earlier. The wound was clean, not inflamed or infected and did not appear to have caused <br />the fishes death. The size of the fish, the fact that they died near or at the same time <br />suggests some event (i.e., lightening, poisoning) may have c,aused their death. <br /> <br />PREDATOR/PREY TANK TESTS <br /> <br />Few biologists question the predatory role of nonnative fishes. Substantial funding and <br />effort is currently being expended toward the removal oflarge predators, such as <br />largemouth bass, northern pike, and channel catfish (McAda 1997, Jackson and Badame <br />2002, Modde and Fuller 2002). Unfortunately, systematic research has not been <br />conducted to determine the extent ofthe problem or whether removal is even feasible. <br /> <br />14 <br />