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<br />,~ .... <br /> <br />Tank tests revealed an alarming predation rate for small nonnative predators that included <br />crayfish, amphibians, and fish. Small predators are far more numerous, have easier <br />access to shallower and more densely vegetated habitats than their larger cohorts. They <br />are also relatively immune to most mechanical removal techniques. It is becoming <br />painfully obvious that nonnative predation is an ovelWhelming obstacle to recovery that <br />we may never fully resolve. <br /> <br />Bonytaii school, and the size of these schools decrease with age. Relatively large (> 100 <br />fish) schools of larvae and fry were found under the protection of overhead cover. Vie <br />also observed tight schools of small (<10 em) bonytail that numbered up to 50 fish. <br />Schools of older juveniles (10-15 em) were fewer in number and more dispersed in <br />nature. The undelWater camera occasionally captured bonytail >20cm, but these events <br />were rare (5 fishlhour). One event involved a small sehool (5) oflarge adults. <br /> <br />Bonytail of all sizes were cover,..oriented and nocturnal in nature. While we observed <br />bonytail using the deeper portions of the pond during the day, their numbers dramatically <br />increased at night. They often fed on the surface and by using spotlights we could detect <br />them throughout the water column, where we presume they were feeding on larger <br />plankton. <br /> <br />Larger fish (>30 em) were far more rare and were only observed at night. One large <br />bonytail was observed attacking and driving a relatively large crayfish from a spawning <br />site. <br /> <br />Next Years Work <br /> <br />Telemetry equipment will be used to further describe the daily behavior and use of cover <br />by bonytail. We are examining the possible use of extremely small transmitters on <br />juveniles (15-20 em). The goal would be to determine behavior and diel movements, <br />especially in terms of habitat and cover use. This work is planned for the next two years. <br /> <br />Sampling will increase in an effort to gather more information pertaining to growth rates <br />and habitat use. We plan to use large winged hoop nets to determine the movement of <br />various life stages ofbonytail and razorback sucker. We plan to examine the gut contents <br />of more bonytail to get a better handle of the extent of the tapeworm infestation and to <br />determine what smaller bonytail are eating. <br /> <br />Sampling will also incorporate fish acoustics in an attempt to gather more data pertaining <br />to daily movements, densities, sizes, and spatial distribution. We are planning a <br />minimum of 4 seasonal surveys. <br /> <br />Tank experiments will continue to examine potential small predators of razorback sucker. <br />We plan to conduct additional tank tests examining the rate of egg and larvae predation <br />by tadpoles as well as possible behavioral differences between razorback sucker and <br />bonytail juveniles. We also plan to conduct experiments examining the interactions of <br />large and medium sized predators in relationship to larval native fish losses. <br /> <br />23 <br />