Bonita Creek Fish Monitoring 2015
Marsh & Associates (M&A) with assistance from Bureau of Land Management (BLM) visited lower Bonita Creek, Graham Co., Arizona to sample fishes February 17-20, 2015. This monitoring is part of a long-term program initiated by BLM to evaluate relationships between populations of native and non-native fishes.
Methods. Collections were made by hoop net (0.66 m diameter, 1.2 m long, two-hoop, single throat, 0.6 cm mesh) or minnow trap (standard “Gee,” 25 cm diameter, 47 cm long, double throat, 0.6 or 0.3 cm mesh; or collapsible “Promar,” 0.3 m diameter, 0.6 and 0.9 m long, double throat, 1.2 cm mesh). Traps were set with an air pocket (see cover photo) to prevent inadvertent drowning of non-target air-breathing animals. Netting effort during this trip was distributed throughout Zone 2 (between the 2nd and 3rd road crossings), Zone 3 (between the 3rd and 4th road crossings), Zone 4 (between the 4th and 5th road crossing), and Zone 6 (between the 6th and 7th road crossing) (Figures 1 & 2).