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Abundance of Colorado pikeminnow recruits (400 to 449 mm TL) per year over the <br />period 2000-2003 varied from 130 (SE = 36) to 412 (SE = 51), and, on average, represented only <br />8.9% (4.7 to 13.3%) of the number of adults present in any given year. Estimates were variable <br />over time and perhaps suggested a stable trend for Colorado pikeminnow recruits over the <br />sampling period. Estimates of Colorado pikeminnow recruit abundance were less precise than <br />river-wide abundance estimates for adults, with CV's that ranged from 12 to 27%. <br />Survival estimates.-The best AIC model suggested a constant survival rate S for Colorado <br />pikeminnow over the study period (Fig. 9) with a TL, TLZ, and TV terms (parameters and SE's <br />for the function of logit S are intercept = 0.6173, SE = 0.1370; TL = 0.5606, SE = 0.2373; TO = <br />-0.2068, SE = 0.1140; TV = -0.1320, SE = 0.0665), where survival was relatively low for fish <br />about 350-mm TL, increased for fish up to about 600-mm TL, and then declined rather <br />dramatically for larger fish. Average S adjusted to the mean TL for Colorado pikeminnow across <br />all river reaches was 0.65 (95% CI, 0.586 to 0.708) for the 2000-2003 study period (Table 10). <br />We fully investigated the apparent phenomenon that larger fish had poor apparent <br />survival in this study with many different analyses but survival estimates for large fish <br />consistently approached zero. Analysis of the capture history records for the 18 Colorado <br />pikeminnow 800-mm TL or larger suggested that only two were recaptured after initial capture <br />during this study, and both recaptures occurred within the same year. Because only recaptures <br />across years contribute to survival analyses, this was the cause for declining survival <br />relationships for larger fish, compared to those for 1991-1999. If some of those fish are captured <br />in years after 2003, survival rates for that size-class may increase. <br />Average S for Colorado pikeminnow captured during ISMP sampling from 1991 to 1999 <br />was 0.82 (95% Cl 0.709 to 0.891), higher than that observed for 2000 to 2003. The shape of the <br />31