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<br /> <br />Figure 12. Common prey (feeder fish) and bonytail that had previously experienced predator <br />aggression would often take a defensive stance of swimming at the upper sides of the tank. This position <br />minimized the possible angle of attack and denied predators a backstop to trap prey. <br /> <br />Razorback Sucker <br />During the flow chamber tests, we often heard fish splashing in tank no. four (control). This lank <br />had a very active aerator that caused the water to up-well violently. On closer examination, we fOtlnd <br />that suckers were swimming vertically through the bubble plume dm! kdpi ng lltll ollhe \\ <11\.'1 1'111' <br />behavior was not seen in the other three tanks but was a common occurrence in lank rom Thc na(ur\.' (II <br />reason for this behavior is not known. <br />Initially we attempted to expose fish to predation by pl~ICin!2 Idr~l' illilll',ld "II!:, [I' I., . I, <br />holding several hundred razorback suckers. Mo\ing prcdilIllr, "lllI\,'\\ Ill,'iI' 'i' <br />days. Both catfish went to the far end of each lank wherc IlK) rel1\dlll\.'d 1\llill"I:ic'" I,ll I \ II <br />razorback suckers crowded around them in mass, possibly CUriOus. Their allril\.'IIOIl III 111l' f)r,'d,lllll' <br />gradually decreased but the razorback suckers certainly did not exhibi l predalor a \OIJaml\.' Ih\.' I I' na 1\ " <br />curiosity would put them at greater risk in the wild. <br />We modified our study design to move the prey to the predator; thIS j, al'll more r\.'I)ll'\l'lll ,II 1\,' <br />of stocking practices. The handling ordeal caused the juvenile razorbal'K 'Ul'K\.'r\ III llL'l', ,111,'11 'l'l'~ \ I \~ <br />refuge in shelters whether they contained a predator or not. With lime lhc) cdlmcd dt \\\ 11. ;III.! (ill,l! <br />schooled in and around the shelters. Some fish remained inside the shellers <br />Razorback suckers at night were found randomly distributed along 1!1\.' hOIlOlll ,llld I"l'lllll" 1'1: <br />the tank's sides. We did not observe any type of schooling behavior after Jar" Ilalhl'.Id l,IIII,1I 1\ ,'I' <br />generally active, slowly swimming around the tank. These observations were brief anJ IlInlled -"Jill'\, <br />using an artificial light often startled the fish. <br />The following morning, razorback suckers were generally found inside the lO-cm-diameter <br />inflow pipe or in shelters not occupied by a predator. They became highly skittish, avoided the catfish. <br />and darted around the tank. In the pre-exposure tank, there was only one shelter that was always <br />occupied by "Oscar," the pre-exposure predator. Survivors from that harrowing night always avoided <br />going into that shelter. <br /> <br />18 <br />