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Paria River Fish Monitoring Annual Report not been noted in the Paria River. Speckled dace also appear to be affected by flooding. Catches tend to be highest from late spring through summer (Figure 4). The August sample occurred in the middle of the monsoon flood period and only 6 speckled dace were captured (only two came from above the mouth). However, in contrast to flannelmouth sucker, speckled dace recolonized the Paria soon after flooding. By the September trip (13 days following the largest flood of the year; approximately 6,000 cfs), the speckled dace abundance reached its highest of the year (39 fish; ~ 3.7 fish ! l 00 m2 seined). It is unknown whether these fish withstood the flood, recolonized from the Colorado river or were flushed downstream from upper reaches of the Paria. Speckled dace may not occupy the Paria River year-round, as was previously thought. During December, no dace were caught above the mouth and only one was caught in the mouth. Ice was present in the Paria as sampling began and water temperature was 0.2° C at the first site. The Colorado River is a nearly constant 8 - 10° Cyear-round. It would seem sensible for the fish to leave the colder Paria for the relatively warmer Colorado when temperatures drop below their thermal preference. Golden Shiner C+ne golden shiner was caught in August (Table 6). This fish was 65 mm long and weighed 2.4 g (Table 7). Golden shiners have also been caught in 1996 in the mouth of the Paria (Figure 6). The golden shiner is native to the Mississippi and Atlantic coast drainages (Sigler and • Sigler 1996). It is rare in the Colorado River and its tn~butaries between Glen Canyon Dam and Diamond Creek -one was caught in the mouth of the Paria River in 1996 (Brouder and Hoffnagle 1997a) and another in a backwater of the Colorado River just above its confluence with the Little Colorado River in 1997 (Arizona Game and Fish Department 1996a). The golden shiner captured in the Paria in 1998 was probably an age 1 fish, based on growth data compiled by Carlander (1969). Since this species has been captured here before, it is possible that this fish was spawned in the mouth of the Paria, survived a trip through the Glen Canyon Dam turbines or is a released bait fish. Golden shiners prefer quiet pools and backwater habitat and is tolerant of moderate turbidity (Pflieger 1975), similar to that found in the ponded Paria River mouth. • Hoffnagle 1999, Paria River 1998 A~~al Report Arizona Game dt Fish Department 19