The Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation (CTCR) is seeking proposals from qualified firms to analyze gut samples collected from predator fish species captured in Lake Roosevelt (upper Columbia River) during the fall of 2024 (described below) to identify predation on age-0 juvenile white sturgeon. Sample processing will include: scanning guts to detect and extract passive integrated transponders (PIT), coded wire (CWT) tags, or other metal objects; physically identifying and enumerating all prey items and obtaining morphometrics for any white sturgeon encountered; and confirming predation on white sturgeon using DNA-based methods. Interested firms may propose to carry out the entirety of the sample processing and analysis described above, or only analyze DNA samples collected by CTCR staff. A single proposal can include both options.
