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populations (Figure 2). Conductivity was generally higher in the <br />ponds than in the adjacent river as evidenced by the drop in values <br />during the flood period. Fish Chalet Pond had much higher conductivity, <br />values than the other four ponds (Figure 3). Secchi disk transparency <br />was always less than 2 m in four of the ponds, and fell to as low as <br />0.1 m during the spring flood. However, during this time, the one pond <br />not affected by the flood, Fish Chalet, became so clear that details <br />of the benthic region could be readily discerned when viewed from the <br />surface (Figure 4). <br />4. Squawfish Stocking <br />Squawfish were stocked in the ponds on October 13, 1983, and on July <br />24 and October 31, 1984. Stocking data and pond conditions at the time <br />of-stocking are given in Tables 5,.6, and 7. Samples of squawfish held <br />in live-cages at each pond at the time of each stocking all had 1001 <br />survival when checked 48 hours later, indicating that transport stress <br />was not critical. <br />5. Bass Stomach Contents <br />Only bass stomach contents collected during fall of 1983 have been <br />analysed to date. Those contents were collected from bass at Terry <br />and Island ponds. In both cases, diets of the bass switched almost <br />entirely to squawfish immediately after stocking. Within two weeks, <br />squawfish had disappeared from the diet of Terry Pond bass, possibly <br />indicating their disappearance from the community (Figure 5). Also, <br />the mean volume of the contents increased when squawfish were stocked, <br />indicating that squawfish were more vulnerable or abundant than the <br />customary food items (Tables 9 and 10). By using both ends of the <br />confidence intervals for the bass population estimates and the mean <br />number of squawfish per stomach for each size class of bass, it can <br />be estimated that between 21 and 79 percent of the squawfish stocked <br />were eaten the first night at Terry Pond. <br />6. Squawfish Growth <br />Squawfish stocked in October, 1983, did not grow during winter. Those <br />remaining in Fish Chalet Pond were monitored through the following <br />summer. They demonstrated, for the first time, their growth potential <br />under ideal circumstances. In five months they more than tripled in <br />mean total length (Figure 6). One individual was 304 mm long by the <br />end of September. The reputation the squawfish has of being a slow <br />grower is apparently based on growth rates observed in the upper <br />portion of its historic range where water temperatures are not optimal. <br />Warm pond water and abundant food supplies of young carp produced <br />squawfish growth in Fish Chalet Pond that may be indicative of growth <br />in the once warmer waters of the southern portion of the fish's <br />historic range. <br />7. Overall Survival <br />Survival of squawfish varied greatly according to the pond and season <br />of stocking (Table 8). Overall survival is not correlated soley with <br />densities of largemouth bass, and yet, bass predation is obviously a <br />8