Population Status and Distribution of Razorback Suckers and Bonytail Downstream from Palo Verde Diversion Dam
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Population Status and Distribution of Razorback Suckers and Bonytail Downstream from Palo Verde Diversion Dam 2018 Interim Report February 2019 Work conducted under LCR MSCP Work Task C64 Lower Colorado River Multi-Species Conservation Program Steering Committee Members Federal Participant Group California Participant Group Bureau of Reclamation California Department of Fish and Wildlife U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service City of Needles National Park Service Coachella Valley Water District Bureau of Land Management Colorado River Board of California Bureau of Indian Affairs Bard Water District Western Area Power Administration Imperial Irrigation District Los Angeles Department of Water and Power Palo Verde Irrigation District Arizona Participant Group San Diego County Water Authority Southern California Edison Company Arizona Department of Water Resources Southern California Public Power Authority Arizona Electric Power Cooperative, Inc. The Metropolitan Water District of Southern Arizona Game and Fish Department California Arizona Power Authority Central Arizona Water Conservation District Cibola Valley Irrigation and Drainage District Nevada Participant Group City of Bullhead City City of Lake Havasu City Colorado River Commission of Nevada City of Mesa Nevada Department of Wildlife City of Somerton Southern Nevada Water Authority City of Yuma Colorado River Commission Power Users Electrical District No. 3, Pinal County, Arizona Basic Water Company Golden Shores Water Conservation District Mohave County Water Authority Mohave Valley Irrigation and Drainage District Native American Participant Group Mohave Water Conservation District North Gila Valley Irrigation and Drainage District Hualapai Tribe Town of Fredonia Colorado River Indian Tribes Town of Thatcher Chemehuevi Indian Tribe Town of Wickenburg Salt River Project Agricultural Improvement and Power District Unit “B” Irrigation and Drainage District Conservation Participant Group Wellton-Mohawk Irrigation and Drainage District Yuma County Water Users’ Association Ducks Unlimited Yuma Irrigation District Lower Colorado River RC&D Area, Inc. Yuma Mesa Irrigation and Drainage District The Nature Conservancy Other Interested Parties Participant Group QuadState Local Governments Authority Desert Wildlife Unlimited Lower Colorado River Multi-Species Conservation Program Population Status and Distribution of Razorback Suckers and Bonytail Downstream from Palo Verde Diversion Dam 2018 Interim Report Prepared by: Taylor F. Haas, Aaron A. Burgad, Brian R. Kesner, and Paul C. Marsh Marsh & Associates, LLC 5016 South Ash Avenue, Suite 108 Tempe, Arizona 85282 Lower Colorado River Multi-Species Conservation Program Bureau of Reclamation Lower Colorado Region Boulder City, Nevada http://www.lcrmscp.gov February 2019 Haas T.F, A.A Burgad, B.R. Kesner, and P.C. Marsh. 2019. Population Status and Distribution of Razorback Suckers and Bonytail Downstream from Palo Verde Diversion Dam, 2018 Interim Report. Submitted to the Lower Colorado River Multi-Species Conservation Program, Bureau of Reclamation, Boulder City, Nevada, by Marsh & Associates, LLC, Tempe, Arizona, under contract No. R16PD00904. ACRONYMS AND ABBREVIATIONS ABS acrylonitrile butadiene styrene Center Southwestern Native Aquatic Resources and Recovery Center CI confidence interval Cibola NWR Cibola National Wildlife Refuge DAL days at large kHz kilohertz km kilometer(s) LCR MSCP Lower Colorado River Multi-Species Conservation Program m meter(s) mg/kg milligram(s) per kilogram mg L-1 milligram(s) per liter mm millimeter(s) MS-222 tricaine methanesulfonate PIT passive integrated transponder RM river mile SUR submersible ultrasonic receiver SY study year TL total length UTM Universal Transverse Mercator Symbols ≥ greater than or equal to < less than % percent ® registered trademark CONTENTS Page Executive Summary .......................................................................................... ES-1 Introduction ............................................................................................................. 1 Study Area ........................................................................................................ 2 Methods................................................................................................................... 2 Releases............................................................................................................. 6 Telemetry .......................................................................................................... 6 Surgery ........................................................................................................ 8 Remote PIT Tag Sensing ................................................................................ 11 Population Estimates ....................................................................................... 13 Post-Stocking Survival and Dispersal ............................................................. 13 Results ................................................................................................................... 14 Releases........................................................................................................... 14 Remote PIT Tag Sensing ................................................................................ 19 Population Estimates ....................................................................................... 19 Post-Stocking Survival and Dispersal ............................................................. 21 Avian Predation Observations ........................................................................ 24 Discussion ............................................................................................................. 24 Literature Cited ..................................................................................................... 29 Tables Table Page 1 Subadult razorback suckers and bonytail released into C7 McIntyre Park, lower Colorado River, Arizona, November 16, 2017 .............................................................................. 10 2 Adult razorback suckers released in A10 lower, lower Colorado River, Arizona, January 18, 2018 ......................................................... 11 3 Subadult razorback suckers and bonytail released in C10 Ehler’s, lower Colorado River, February 7, 2018 .............................................. 12 4 Razorback sucker releases (January 2007 through April 2018) downstream from Palo Verde Dam and their subsequent remote PIT sensing contacts, lower Colorado River, Arizona and California .............................................................................................. 15 5 Bonytail releases (January 2007 through April 2018) downstream from Palo Verde Dam and their subsequent remote PIT sensing contacts, lower Colorado River, Arizona and California ...................... 17 6 Razorback sucker and bonytail release and contact data for fishes contacted via remote PIT sensing in the main channel, lower Colorado River, Arizona and California ............................................... 21 i Tables (continued) Table Page 7 Dispersal statistics for acoustic-tagged razorback suckers released in SY 2018, lower Colorado River, Arizona and California ................. 22 8 Dispersal statistics for acoustic-tagged bonytail released in SY 2018, lower Colorado River, Arizona and California ..................... 22 9 Dispersal statistics for acoustic-tagged adult razorback suckers from SY 2017 outside of the release backwater after 4/15/2017 (last field day of SY 2017), lower Colorado River, Arizona and California .............................................................................................. 23 Figures Figure Page 1 Reaches 4 and 5 on the lower Colorado River, Arizona and California. ............................................................................................... 3 2 Study backwaters in Reach 4 on the lower Colorado River, Arizona and California. ........................................................................... 4 3 Aerial imagery of five backwaters in Reach 4, lower Colorado River, Arizona and California. ................................................................ 5 4 Location of SURs deployed in the main channel and backwaters in Reach 4, lower Colorado River, Arizona and California. ................... 7 5 Remote PIT tag sensing unit deployment locations for SY 2017 (left) and SY 2018 (right), lower Colorado River, Arizona and California. ............................................................................................. 20 6 The frequency of razorback suckers (top) and bonytail (bottom) contacted at a given number of days after release (DAL) via remote PIT tag sensing.......................................................................... 25 7 Razorback suckers (top) and bonytail (bottom) contacted via remote PIT tag sensing as a percentage of total released grouped by release location and size at release (TL). ......................................... 26 8 Razorback sucker mortality (left) and a bonytail mortality (right), both found floating deceased in A10 upper, lower Colorado River, Arizona and California. .............................................................. 27 ii EXECUTIVE SUMMARY This is the second year of the current project to monitor the population status and distribution of razorback suckers (Xyrauchen texanus) and bonytail (Gila elegans) in the lower Colorado River downstream from Palo