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<br />In 2004, mean CPUE offlannelmouth sucker was about one third that of2003 but still <br />represents an increasing trend since 2000 (Figure 9). Catch rates of flannelmouth suckers <br />collected in the Little Colorado River and in the mainstem Colorado River within Grand Canyon <br />between 1991 and 2000 suggest that the population offlannelmouth suckers was stable and <br />showed few strong year classes (Figure 2). The population offlannelmouth suckers sampled <br />during this time was dominated by age 0 fish (<150mm) and adults (>400mm). Recent <br />monitoring in the Little Colorado River (2002-2004) as well as electrofishing in the mainstem <br />shows evidence of increased abundance of sub-adult flannelmouth suckers. This trend was most <br />evident in mainstem electrofishing data between 233 km and 346 km downstream of Glen <br />Canyon Dam (Scott Rogers AGFD, personal communication). The observed trend corresponds <br />temporally and spatially to an increased number of days with water temperature greater than <br />150C (Figure 12). It is likely that increased river temperatures resulting from lower Lake Powell <br />water levels and stable summer discharges from Glen Canyon Dam are partially responsible for <br />the increased recruitment offlannelmouth suckers within the Little Colorado River. One <br />flannelmouth sucker initially tagged at rkm 193 below Shinumo Creek in the Mainstem Colorado <br />River was subsequently caught in 2004 in the LCR (Appendix). Adult flannelmouth suckers are <br />known to make long distance upstream movements when they reach reproductive size. <br />Catch of blue head suckers ::::150 mm TL continued to increase in 2004(Figure 10). Large <br />numbers of age 2 and 3 flannelmouth suckers continue to be caught compared with previous <br />years (Figure 2). High recruitment of flannelmouth and bluehead suckers may have been caused <br />by the low summer steady flows in 2000 which increased mainstem water temperature by <br />approximately 2 oC in the lower river. Subsequent warmer mainstem water temperatures caused <br />by drought conditions and lowered water levels in Lake Powell (Susan Hueftle, USGS <br />unpublished data) may have also led to increased survival of suckers. The removal of rainbow <br />trout in the area around the confluence of the Little Colorado River may also be partly <br />responsible for the increased catch of suckers within the Little Colorado River. One bluehead <br />sucker was recaptured in 2004 but the tag information is not currently in the GCMRC 14.5 <br />database. (See Appendix). The low number of recaptures recorded for blueheadsucker suggests <br />tagging mortality may be high and indicates further research is needed on tag retention and tag <br />related mortality in bluehead suckers. <br /> <br />10 <br />