WSP01039

• File Number: 8240.300.10
• Description: San Juan River Recovery Program - Program Organization and Mission
• State: CO
• Basin: San Juan/Dolores
• Water Division: 7
• Date: 5/25/1999
• Author: SJRRIP
• Title: San Juan River Basin Recovery Implementation Program Annual Budget and Work Plan Fiscal Year 1999
• Water Supply Pro - Doc Type: Biological Opinion

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San Juan River Specimen Curation And Larval Fish Identification
Fiscal Year 1999 Project Proposal

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Principal Investigators: Steven P. Platania and Alexandra M. Snyder
Division of Fishes - Museum of Southwestern Biology,
University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM87131
[phone]
[e-mail] [e-mail]

Studv Area:

This project does not involve the collection of specimens but instead the processing and curation
of samples gathered by the different research components of the San Juan River Research
program. The collective sampling area for other researchers will be the San Juan River between
Farmington and the Clay Hills boat landing (RM 2.9) just above Lake Powell in Utah.

Collections:

Will no samples are collected under this task, the curation of all samples submitted will be in
the Division of Fishes, Museum of Southwestern Biology (MSB), Department of Biology, at the
University of New Mexico.

, Backeround:

Personnel from the Division of Fishes, Museum of Southwestern Biology (MSB), at the
University of New Mexico are responsible for two inter-related programs on the San Juan River.
The Fish Division is the repository for specimens collected and retained by researchers. Fish
taken under these programs are initially sorted by the principal investigator, held until they have
submitted their yearly-progress report, and then received by MSB personnel. The collection is
accessioned, specimens transferred from formalin to alcohol, identifications verified, individuals
enumerated, length ranges recorded (largest and smallest specimen in a collection), collection
data verified and transferred to wet labels, and incorporated into a database. Changes in species
identifications are noted and returned to the principal investigator along with the entire dataset
(listing of collection locality, collectors, date, original field number, species, number of
specimens, length ranges, and museum catalog number). In addition to performing duties
associated with collections curation, we are also responsible for complete processing (sorting,
identifying, counting, curating, and reporting) of selected San Juan River collections (larval drift
netting samples, razorback sucker larval fish sampling, spawning bar fish collections). The
samples (almost 600) generated by the aforementioned three studies resulted in the collection of
over 20,000 larval fish during 1998 (this is an estimate as all samples have not been processed-
at present we have sorted and identified over 15,000 larval fish).

In 1998, we processed almost 50,000 larval and juvenile fishes collected by the Utah,Division
of Wildlife Resources (during 1996) and University of New Mexico-N.M. Game and Fish

Work Plan FY99. wpd

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Budget and Work Plan FY99