Laserfiche WebLink
344 <br />MARSH AND DOUGLAS <br />TABLE 1.-Numbers and mean total lengths (ranges in parentheses) of introduced piscivores and their fish prey in <br />the Little Colorado River, Arizona, July 1991-June 1995. Some prey (ND, not determined) were in states of digestion <br />that prevented species identification, measurement, or both. Native taxa are indicated by an asterisk (*). <br />Predator <br /> <br />Species N <br />Total length <br />(mm) <br /> <br />Taxon Prey fishes in stomachs <br /> <br />N <br />Total length <br />(mm) <br />Rainbow trout 3 356(332-398) Humpback chub* 3 43(40-45) <br />2 372(370-373) Speckled dace* 2 60(45-75) <br />2 353(335-370) Fathead minnow 5 42(30-60) <br />1 355 Common carp 1 60 <br />1 375 Flannelmouth sucker* 1 78 <br />1 350 Bluehead sucker* 1 ND <br />4 351(319-383) ND Cyprinidae 9 46(30-65) <br />1 341 ND Catostomidae* 1 43 <br />10 345(313-389) ND 16 96 (34->150) <br />Channel catfish 8 554 (375-790) Humpback chub* 22 115(85-200) <br /> 5 453(271-594) Speckled dace* 6 67(60-75) <br /> 1 482 Fathead minnow 1 60 <br /> 1 476 Common carp 1 116 <br /> 2 525(455-594) Hannelmouth sucker* 2 175(150-200) <br /> 4 599(582-605) Bluehead sucker* 5 211(150-250) <br /> 2 480(477-482) ND Cyprinidae 6 58(40-80) <br /> to 452(281-595) ND 11 100(58-200) <br />Yellow bullhead 1 167 ND Cyprinidae 3 39(37-41) <br /> 1 171 ND 1 >100 <br />Black bullhead 2 152(134-169) Humpback chub* 2 52(49-55) <br />Brown trout 1 341 Speckled dace* 1 77 <br /> 1 566 ND 1 118 <br />ther their guts were removed and fixed in 10% <br />formalin or whole fish (<100 mm) were preserved <br />in 95% ethanol. The entire digestive tract was ex- <br />amined and food composition was determined in <br />the lab. Fish prey were identified and measured if <br />enough of the specimen remained. Pharyngeal <br />tooth counts aided in discriminating among cyp- <br />rinid prey. We also examined stomach contents <br />microscopically to determine if larval fishes had <br />been eaten. <br />Results and Discussion <br />Humpback chub remains were identified in 13 <br />(3.2%) of the 408 digestive tracts examined (Table <br />1). Overall, remains of native fishes were in 13.7% <br />of 219 stomachs that contained food. Common <br />carp Cyprinus carpio, speckled dace Rhinichthys <br />osculus, fathead minnow Pimephales promelas, <br />bluehead sucker Pantosteus (=Catostomus) dis- <br />cobolus, flannelmouth sucker Catostomus latipin- <br />nis, and unidentified fish remains were in stomachs <br />of 51 predators, 5 of which also had eaten hump- <br />back chub (Table 1). Mean length of humpback <br />chub in stomachs (102 mm TL; N = 27) did not <br />differ significantly (two-sample t-test, Snedecor <br />and Cochran 1967) from that of other ingested <br />fishes (92 mm; N = 74). No larval or small post- <br />larval fishes were found, probably due to the tran- <br />sient presence of this fragile stage in predator guts. <br />Rangewide, the humpback chub is represented by <br />several sustaining populations, but assessment of <br />the effects of predation on early life stages on long- <br />term population viability cannot be made until <br />methods to quantify this predation are worked out. <br />Stomachs of 3 of 174 rainbow trout (prey length <br />40-45 mm) and 2 of 12 black bullhead (49 and <br />55 mm TL) contained humpback chub; 22 rainbow <br />trout had eaten other fishes. Speckled dace and an <br />unidentified fish were in 2 of 10 brown trout stom- <br />achs, and unidentified fish remains were also in 2 <br />of 10 yellow bullheads. Eight of 202 channel cat- <br />fish ate 1-7 chub each (85-200 mm). Fish remains <br />were in 25 other stomachs. Channel catfish that <br />ate fish averaged 500 rum TL, which was larger <br />than catfish that had not eaten fish, a result sup- <br />ported by Tyus and Nikirk (1990). <br />Algae (primarily Cladophora) were the most <br />common food of rainbow trout (47% frequency of <br />occurrence), brown trout ate mostly terrestrial in- <br />vertebrates (20%), and fish was the most common <br />food of other predator species (10-20%; Table 2). <br />Rainbow trout and channel catfish consumed a va- <br />riety of other items including vegetation, amphi- <br />pods Gammarus lacustris, aquatic insect larvae,