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<br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br /> <br />Valley downstream to the Utah border and included the deep-water area known as <br />Black Rocks. The confluence of the Gunnison and Colorado rivers is in the upper <br />part of Reach 4. Reach 3 was the moderate- to high-gradient reach upstream <br />from Moab (RM 65-110), whereas Reach 2 consisted of the lo~gradient area <br />downstream from Moab (RM 0-65). The Dolores River joins the Colorado in Reach <br />3. Reach 1, the most do""stream reach, consfsted almost entirely of waters <br />within Lake Powell (RM 168-200), the reservoir formed by Glen Canyon Dam. <br /> <br />Methods <br /> <br />Radiotelemetry (Objective 1) <br /> <br />Movement of adult-size Colorado squawfish was followed using <br />radiotelemetry. Fish were collected by e1ectrofishing, gill nets and trammel <br />nets in early spring, prior to the onset of spawning. After measurements of <br />total length (TL, mm) and weight (g) were taken, Colorado squawfish longer <br />than about 450 mm TL (considered the minimum size of fish suitable for <br />carrying a transmitter) were anesthetized and surgically implanted with radio <br />transmitters following procedures outlined by Miller et a1. (1983). Several <br />transmitter types with theoretical battery life of 6, 10 and 18 months were <br />used. Transmitter weight (in air) ranged from 9 to 20 g. To nrinimize <br />handling stress, radio-tagged fish were released near their capture site <br />within two hours of the surgical procedure. We endeavored to capture fish for <br />radiotelemetry from each of the major river reaches. However, because the <br />study area was too large to allow an effective, annual, riverwide study, the <br />number of fish equipped with radios differed within reaches among years. <br /> <br />River reaches were searched for radio-tagged fish at least bi-week1y <br />between April and October and more frequently during the spawning season. <br />Routine tracking was not conducted during the November-March period. Tracking <br />was usually performed by a two-person crew proceeding downstream in a f1at- <br />bottom boat; however, occassiona1, relatively unsuccessful searches were made <br />from aircraft (see Appendix Tables 19-21 for a summary of tracking effort). <br /> <br />Larval samD1inq (Objectives 1 and 2) <br /> <br />From July through October, which encompases the spa""ing season for <br />Colorado squawfish, the radio-tracking effort was accompanied by qualitative <br />sampling of the larval fish community. Larval fishes were collected in 0.5- <br />mm-mesh hand nets from backwater and shoreline areas at approximately 5-mi <br />intervals along the river. Areas that received extra radio-tracking <br />surveilance because radio-tagged adult fish were present, also received <br />intensified larval sampling. Between 5 and 15 minutes of effort were expended <br />in the collection of each sample. All larval fishes collected were preserved <br />in 5" formalin. These fish were later identified, grouped into 10-mm length <br />classes and counted at the Larval Fish Laboratory, Colorado State University. <br />Locations and dates of larval fish collections are provided in Appendix Tables <br />22-24. For graphic presentation, data were sunvnarized as the percent <br />composition of all larval fishes collected by week from within lQ-mi river <br />reaches; however, data were grouped within the four major river reaches for <br />statistical analysis. <br /> <br />8 <br />