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<br />002781 <br /> <br />The collection of wild adult razorback sucker tissue samples continued in 1992 with all fish being <br />PIT-tagged and, where appropriate, transported to refuge. With respect to each habitat, the number <br />of fish sampled and the location of delivery into refuge, if any, were as follows. <br /> <br />Yampa River (Echo Park) - I ; taken to Ouray EFCES <br />Green River (Razorback Bar) - 15 <br />Green River (Escalante) - 0 <br />Colorado River (Grand Valley and Rifle Area) - 0 <br />Lake Powell (Colorado River Arm) - 5; from previous years held at Ouray EFCES. <br />Lake Powell (San Juan River Arm) - 11; from previous years held at Ouray EFCES. <br /> <br />A separate agreement between USFWS and Dr. Marek Kaliszewski of Brigham Young University <br />(BYU) was entered into in April of 1992. The purpose of this agreement was to have the nuclear <br />DNA analyzed from 25 fish specimens: 21 razorback sucker and suspected hybrids (from the upper <br />mainstem Colorado River), two razorback sucker from the Green River, and two tlannelmouth sucker <br />from Lake Powell. BYU was to use the RAPD (random amplified polymorphic DNA analyses) <br />technique to analyze DNA extracted from tissues supplied by USFWS to ASU. This evaluation was <br />designed to investigate the relative genetic relationships among individuals and among sampling sites. <br />(U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service 1992) <br /> <br />RAPD analyses were performed on Etter Pond razorback sucker by Dr. Kaliszewski. Preliminary <br />results were obtained prior to his tragic death in an auto accident in October, 1992. Based on <br />previous discussions with Dr. Kaliszewski, it appeared that (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service 1992): <br /> <br />L The RAPD method can detect genetic differences among species, i.e. razorback sucker, <br />tlannelmouth sucker, bluehead sucker, white sucker. <br /> <br />2. The RAPD method detects interspecific hybridization among the above species, even that <br />not detectable by mtDNA analysis. Hybridization is occurring in Etter Pond. <br /> <br />3. The RAPD method detects genetic difference among individual razorback sucker from <br />Etter Pond, again not detectable by mtDNA analysis. <br /> <br />Following the death of Dr. Kaliszewski, BYU attempted to continue the work through the efforts of <br />the post-doctoral research associate assigned to the project but he left to accept other employment <br />in February of 1993 and BYU conceded it could no longer fulfill its obligations. Following a long <br />process of disengaging from that contract, complicated by unsuccessful attempts to recoup funds <br />from BYU, efforts got underway to transfer that work to another institution. In September of 1993, <br />the Recovery Program committees approved the transfer of the work to the scientists at ASU, due <br />to their prior work with mtDNA analyses for the Qi!lI taxonomy study. (U.S. Fish and Wildlife <br />Service 1993) <br /> <br />The final draft of "Genetic Diversity of Razorback Sucker as Determined by Restriction Endonuclease <br />Analysis of Mitochondrial DNA" was submitted in December of 1993 (Dowling et aL 1993). This <br />report concluded that existing natural populations of razorback sucker have been interconnected by <br />considerable gene flow or have become isolated so recently that mtDNA differences have yet to <br /> <br />20 <br />