Population Status and Distribution of Razorback Suckers and Bonytail Downstream from Palo Verde Diversion Dam 2020 Annual Report
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Population Status and Distribution of Razorback Suckers and Bonytail Downstream from Palo Verde Diversion Dam 2020 Annual Report August 2021 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 2020 Annual Report Prepared by: Jake R. Kelley, 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 Basin Boulder City, Nevada http://www.lcrmscp.gov August 2021 Kelley, J.R, B.R. Kesner, and P.C. Marsh. Population Status and Distribution of Razorback Suckers and Bonytail Downstream from Palo Verde Diversion Dam. 2021. Submitted to the Lower Colorado River Multi-Species Conservation Program, Boulder City, Nevada, by Marsh & Associates, LLC, Tempe, Arizona, under contract No. R16PD00904. ACRONYMS AND ABBREVIATIONS AICc Akaike’s information criterion adjusted for small sample size C capture Center Southwestern Native Aquatic Resources and Recovery Center Dexter, New Mexico CI confidence interval FDX full duplex (passive integrated transponder tag) GAM generalized additive model HDX half duplex (passive integrated transponder tag) kHz kilohertz km kilometer(s) LCR lower Colorado River LCR MSCP Lower Colorado River Multi-Species Conservation Program M mark MAL months at large M&A Marsh &Associates, LLC m meter(s) mg/kg milligram(s) per kilogram(s) mm millimeter(s) MS-222 tricaine methanesulfonate PIT passive integrated transponder R recapture RM river mile SUR submersible ultrasonic receiver SY study year TL total length USFWS U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service UTM Universal Transverse Mercator Symbols > greater than ≥ greater than or equal to > less than % percent ® registered CONTENTS Page Executive Summary .......................................................................................... ES-1 Introduction ............................................................................................................. 1 Study Area .................................................................................................... 2 Methods................................................................................................................... 2 Releases......................................................................................................... 6 Telemetry ...................................................................................................... 6 Surgery ............................................................................................. 9 Remote PIT Tag Sensing ............................................................................ 12 Remote PIT Scanning Antenna Orientation Study ........................... 12 Bonytail A10 Upper Survival Study ................................................. 16 Population Estimates ................................................................................... 16 Post-S tocking Survival and Dispersal ......................................................... 17 Scanning Probability Modeling ........................................................ 18 Adult Razorback Sucker Survival ..................................................... 18 Habitat Use.................................................................................................. 19 Results ................................................................................................................. 20 Releases....................................................................................................... 20 Remote PIT Tag Sensing ............................................................................ 30 Razorback Sucker Spawning Aggregations ...................................... 31 Remote PIT Scanning Antenna Orientation Study ........................... 33 Bonytail A10 Upper Survival Study ................................................. 33 Population Estimates ................................................................................... 33 Post-S tocking Survival and Dispersal ......................................................... 34 Scanning Probability Modeling ........................................................ 37 Adult Razorback Sucker Survival ..................................................... 41 Habitat Use.................................................................................................. 43 Discussion ............................................................................................................. 43 Literature Cited ..................................................................................................... 47 i Tables Table Page 1 Subadult razorback suckers and bonytail released in A10 lower, LCR, Arizona, October 29, 2019 .......................................................... 10 2 Adult razorback suckers released in A10 lower, LCR, Arizona, January 17, 2020 ................................................................................... 11 3 Subadult razorback suckers and bonytail released in A10 lower, LCR, Arizona, January 30, 2020 .......................................................... 11 4 Habitat use characterization criteria for telemetry fish ............................. 20 5 Razorback sucker releases (January 2007 through April 2020) downstream from Palo Verde Dam and their subsequent remote PIT sensing contacts, LCR, Arizona and California ................. 21 6 Bonytail releases (January 2007 through April 2020) downstream from Palo Verde Dam and their subsequent remote PIT sensing contacts LCR, Arizona and California. ................................................. 27 7 Remote PIT scanning data from the C7 gravel bar, LCR, Arizona and California........................................................................................ 32 8 Remote PIT scanning data for razorback suckers at the A10 upper spawn site, LCR, Arizona ..................................................................... 32 9 Results of bonytail survival parameterizations, LCR, Arizona and California .............................................................................................. 34 10 Dispersal statistics for acoustic-tagged razorback suckers released prior to SY 2020, LCR, Arizona and California ................................... 34 11 Dispersal statistics for acoustic-tagged razorback suckers released in SY 2020, LCR, Arizona and California ............................................ 35 12 Dispersal statistics for acoustic-tagged bonytail released in SY 2020, LCR, Arizona and California ................................................ 36 13 Model results for monthly scanning probability GAM for razorback suckers, LCR, Arizona and California .................................................. 38 14 Results of adult razorback sucker robust mark-recapture model parameterizations, LCR, Arizona and California ................................. 41 15 Adult razorback robust mark-recapture model estimates of survival and contact probability, LCR, Arizona and California ......................... 42 16 Habitat use characterization for telemetry fishes, LCR, Arizona and California .............................................................................................. 43 ii Figures Figure Page 1 LCR MSCP Reaches 4