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<br />",. .. <br /> <br />fish that had been in ponds and had not yet switched to an artificial diet. However the <br />rainbow trout and bonytail from Willow Beach hatchery were fed artificial flakes or <br />pellets throughout their life. When predators were brought into the experiment, we <br />switched their diet to frozen blood'worms ad libidum. To make the experiment more <br />conservative, predators were not starved before each trial; instead they were fed <br />approximately 0.2-0.5 g ofbloodworms/tank within one hour of beginning of a trial and <br />fed every few hours throughout the trial as well. Razorback larvae were fed live brine <br />shrimp (Artemia) or artificial larval food supplied by the hatchery. <br /> <br />When razorbacks were <30 mm, all experimental tanks contained 20 razorback larvae. <br />When razorbacks reached 30-50 min, experimental tanks contained a single prey <br />treatment of 20 razorbacks or a mixed-prey treatment of 10 razorbacks and 10 fathead <br />minnows (Table 4). We carefully measured prey for the mixed treatments so that they <br />were all a similar size. The purpose of adding fathead minnows to the experiment was to <br />determine if predators indicate a preference between the two prey species, or if the non- <br />native prey affects predation on razorbacks. <br /> <br />At least two control tanks (prey species with no predator) were used in each predator <br />trial. All treatment tanks contained four predators of the same species. Trials ran for at <br />least 12 hours and ended when we removed predators and counted surviving larvae. <br /> <br />For the experiments using the more fragile fish under 30 mm, once we determined that <br />they fit within a I-em size class, a subsample of larvae were measured to mm to reduce <br />the stress on all fish before subjecting them to a predation experiment. For the <br />experiments using 30-50 mm fish, measurement methods varied. We continued to <br />measure a subsample on the bluegill trial. However, we realized that obtaining accurate <br />measurements of all prey fish before and after the experiment would allow us to compare <br />the size of starting fish compared with the size that survived. This information could be <br />used to determine if predators were size-selective. We also measured head width and <br />depth of prey to compare with gape measurements of predators. <br /> <br />Results and Discussion <br /> <br />Bullfrog Tadpole-Fish Egg Test. Videographyat CHLP indicated that tadpoles were <br />present and actively feeding among bonytail and razorback sucker spawners. This <br />triggered our curiosity regarding their role in the pond and possibly the wild, which led to <br />the tank: tests. Trammel et aL (2002) suspected they might be contributing to fish losses in <br />the Upper Colorado Basin, but their examination of intestinal contents provided no <br />evidence to support their concerns. <br /> <br />17 <br />