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320 <br />RAZORBACK SUCKER SPAWNING <br />the historic habitat, the establishmenC of over 30 <br />species of nonnative fishes has permanently altered <br />the ichthyofaunal composition (Tyus et al. 1982). <br />Methods <br />Movement patterns and spawning fidelity of ra- <br />zorback suckers were assessed by two methods: <br />monitoring specific individuals with radio telem- <br />etry and analysis of razorback sucker mark-re- <br />capture data collected between 1975 and 1992. <br />Between 30 April and 11 May 1993, seven male <br />razorback suckers were collected, anesthetized with <br />tricaine methanesulfonate (MS-222}, weighed to <br />the nearest 10 g, measured to the nearest milli- <br />meter (total length), and surgically implanted with <br />a 24-month radio transmitter (-~-25 g) with an in- <br />ternal loop antenna. Five fish were collected from <br />a gravel bar at the Escalante spawning area (RK <br />500), one fish from the Yampa River spawning site <br />(RK 555; 0.3 km upstream of the confluence with <br />the Green River) and one fish was collected from <br />the lower reach of Island Park (Dinosaur National <br />Monument) in the Green River (RK 532). All fish <br />were positively identified as males from either ex- <br />pression of milt or heavy tuberculation of the anal <br />and caudal fins. Fish implanted with radio trans- <br />mitters ranged in length from 464 to 520 mm and <br />in weight from 1,120 to 1,600 g. Transmitters were <br />surgically implanted into the abdominal cavity, <br />and fish were released at the capture site 10-20 <br />min after surgery. <br />During the spring, summer, and fall, fish were <br />located at approximately monthly intervals from <br />fixed-wing aircraft. In addition, weekly monitoring <br />of fish locations was conducted by either ground- <br />based observers (1994 only) or fixed-wing aerial <br />surveys (1994 and 1995) from mid-April through <br />May to determine timing of movement to spawn- <br />ing locations. Maximum distance traveled up- <br />stream and downstream by fish implanted with <br />transmitters was determined fora 12-month period <br />beginning on the date of implantation in 1993 and <br />the second week of May in 1994. Maximum dis- <br />tance traveled, either upstream or downstream, <br />was computed by measuring the greatest distance <br />traveled from the spawning site used by a given <br />fish in the spring. Discharge and water temperature <br />data used to compare the number of fish at spawn- <br />ing locations were collected by the U.S. Fish and <br />Wildlife Service (1994) and the U.S. Geological <br />Service (1995) in Jensen, Utah (RK 505). <br />Razorback sucker capture data consisted of elec- <br />trofishing collection records between April and <br />June 1975-1992. Collection effort concentrated on <br />TABLE 1.-Maximum distance traveled upstream and <br />downstream in the middle Green River, Utah, by adult <br />male razorback suckers during 1993-1994 and 1994- <br />1995. Starting date for each 12-month period was May 14. <br />Fish <br />iden[ifi- 1993-1994 1994- 1995 <br />cation <br />number or Downstream Upstream Downstream Upstream <br />statistic (km) (krn) (km) (lan) <br />177D1B 19.0 25.7 93.3 33.8 <br />224B6B 60.4 29.8 99.0 34.6 <br />181765 57.9 23.3 30.6 20.9 <br />030302 21.1 0.0 4.8 45.9 <br />180B26 40.2 0.0 30.6 1.6 <br />180446 0.0 32.2 112.7 0.0 <br />Mean 33.1 i8.6 61.8 22.8 <br />SD 21.8 14.0 43.8 17.1 <br />documented spawning (RK 492-501 and RK 555) <br />(Tyus and Karp 1990) and pre- and postspawning <br />staging areas (RK 480, 481, 399, and 401.5). Fish <br />collection was associated with multiple projects, <br />and although collection effort and area sampled <br />were unequal through time, most effort focused <br />near the Escalante spawning area in the spring (RK <br />492-501). All fish captured were marked with ei- <br />ther dorsally attached Carlin tags (1975-1989) or <br />internally inserted passive integrated transponder <br />(PIT) tags (1990-1992). Data reported include <br />those reported by Tyus and Karp (1990). <br />Riverine Telemetry <br />Results <br />Among the six surviving fish (Table 1), two pat- <br />terns of movement were observed. Four fish <br />moved over 50 km downstream following spawn- <br />ing at least once during the 2-year study period. <br />Three of these four fish were located just upstream <br />of the wetland complex on the Ouray National <br />Wildlife Refuge. Of the six downstream movement <br />events, all but one was initiated in either May or <br />June. After these long downstream movements, <br />fish moved back upstream of the Escalante spawn- <br />ing area within 1 or 2 months. The remaining two <br />males showed little movement and remained in the <br />reach between Island Park and Split Mountain <br />Canyon throughout the year. Only a single obser- <br />vation was made during each winter. In February <br />1994 all six fish were located within Split Moun- <br />tain Canyon, and in March 1995, all six fish were <br />located within a 33-km reach of the river between <br />Island Park (RK 534) and the Escalante spawning <br />area (RK 501). Of interest were the two fish that <br />returned to their original collection site in 1993 <br />(180B26 to Yampa River and 177D1B to Escalan- <br />t <br />