Bighead carp (Hypophthalmichthys nobilis) and the closely related silver carp (Hypophthalmichthys molitrix) (together, the bigheaded carps) and black carp (Mylopharyngodon piceus) are rapidly expanding in numbers and distribution in the Mississippi and Missouri River basins.
The Issue: Like the paddlefish (Polyodon spathula) and bigmouth buffalo (Ictiobus cyprinellis), which are native to the Missouri River, bigheaded carps are primarily filter feeders. They are capable of filtering particles of a much smaller size from the water than native filter feeders, and therefore may have the capability to out compete native fishes in the filter-feeding niche. They are also known to impact water quality through their feeding, and may feed on early life stages of native fishes.
Black carp are thought to be primarily, possibly even obligatory, molluscivores, though no thorough diet analysis has been performed on wild fish. It is known that with their extremely robust pharyngeal teeth and the very large maximum sizes of individuals (sometimes exceeding 50 kg) they are capable of consuming even very large and hard mussels. North America has the most diverse mussel assemblage in the world, but most of those species are threatened or endangered. The black carp is considered to pose an extreme threat to endangered mussels.
A fourth Asian carp, the grass carp, has been present in the Mississippi River Basin since the 1970s. While it has not been considered to pose as high of a threat as the other Asian carps, grass carp can cause changes in vegetation assemblages or in some cases completely remove vegetation. Northern states along the Mississippi River, where large rivers are not already mostly naturally devoid of vegetation, are most concerned about an increase in the range and abundance of grass carp, and grass carp is considered to be a potential nuisance organism in reservoirs.
Addressing the Issue: CERC scientists combine a variety of techniques, including telemetry, larval fish collection with tows and light traps, electrofishing, netting, acoustic video, environmental DNA collection, stable isotopes in muscle, and stable isotopes and microchemistry of otoliths, and laboratory and pond studies of a variety of types. The Invasive species project's primary goals are:
- Early Detection & Rapid Response - identify and report new invasions and assess risks to natural areas and waters;
- Monitoring - Assess changes in populations and distributions of established invaders;
- Control - Provide approaches to contain, reduce, and eliminate populations of invasive species and restore habitats and native species.
Early Life History of Bighead, Silver, Black, and Grass Carps
Principal Investigators - Duane Chapman and Amy George
Black Carp Biology, Status, and Selective Toxic Bait Development
Principal Investigators - Duane Chapman and Patrick Kroboth
Bigheaded Carp Sampling and Mass Removal Techniques
Principal Investigators - Duane Chapman, Josey Ridgway, Andrew Mueller, and Matthew Acre
Return to Invasive Species Ecology
Return to River Studies
Below are data or web applications associated with this project.
Survival and hydrodynamic behavior of grass carp eggs and larvae in relation to turbulence and in-stream obstructions
Diet items consumed by wild-caught black carp (Mylopharyngodon piceus) in the U.S.
Black carp and grass carp morphometric measurements
Below are publications associated with this project.
Black Carp in North America: A description of range, habitats, time of year, and methods of reported captures
First examination of diet items consumed by wild-caught black carp (Mylopharyngodon piceus) in the U.S.
Survival and drifting patterns of grass carp eggs and larvae in response to interactions with flow and sediment in a laboratory flume
Ontogenetic changes in swimming speed of silver carp, bighead carp, and grass carp larvae: implications for larval dispersal
Evidence of Asian carp spawning upstream of a key choke point in the Mississippi River
Comparison of size, terminal fall velocity, and density of bighead carp, silver carp, and grass carp eggs for use in drift modeling
Genetic analysis shows that morphology alone cannot distinguish asian carp eggs from those of other cyprinid species
Effects of sediment burial on grass carp, Ctenopharyngodon idella (Valenciennes,1844), eggs
Embryonic and larval development and early behavior in grass carp, Ctenopharyngodon idella: implications for recruitment in rivers
- Overview
Bighead carp (Hypophthalmichthys nobilis) and the closely related silver carp (Hypophthalmichthys molitrix) (together, the bigheaded carps) and black carp (Mylopharyngodon piceus) are rapidly expanding in numbers and distribution in the Mississippi and Missouri River basins.
The Issue: Like the paddlefish (Polyodon spathula) and bigmouth buffalo (Ictiobus cyprinellis), which are native to the Missouri River, bigheaded carps are primarily filter feeders. They are capable of filtering particles of a much smaller size from the water than native filter feeders, and therefore may have the capability to out compete native fishes in the filter-feeding niche. They are also known to impact water quality through their feeding, and may feed on early life stages of native fishes.
Black carp are thought to be primarily, possibly even obligatory, molluscivores, though no thorough diet analysis has been performed on wild fish. It is known that with their extremely robust pharyngeal teeth and the very large maximum sizes of individuals (sometimes exceeding 50 kg) they are capable of consuming even very large and hard mussels. North America has the most diverse mussel assemblage in the world, but most of those species are threatened or endangered. The black carp is considered to pose an extreme threat to endangered mussels.
A fourth Asian carp, the grass carp, has been present in the Mississippi River Basin since the 1970s. While it has not been considered to pose as high of a threat as the other Asian carps, grass carp can cause changes in vegetation assemblages or in some cases completely remove vegetation. Northern states along the Mississippi River, where large rivers are not already mostly naturally devoid of vegetation, are most concerned about an increase in the range and abundance of grass carp, and grass carp is considered to be a potential nuisance organism in reservoirs.
Addressing the Issue: CERC scientists combine a variety of techniques, including telemetry, larval fish collection with tows and light traps, electrofishing, netting, acoustic video, environmental DNA collection, stable isotopes in muscle, and stable isotopes and microchemistry of otoliths, and laboratory and pond studies of a variety of types. The Invasive species project's primary goals are:
- Early Detection & Rapid Response - identify and report new invasions and assess risks to natural areas and waters;
- Monitoring - Assess changes in populations and distributions of established invaders;
- Control - Provide approaches to contain, reduce, and eliminate populations of invasive species and restore habitats and native species.
Embryonic grass carp(Public domain.) Early Life History of Bighead, Silver, Black, and Grass Carps
Principal Investigators - Duane Chapman and Amy George
USGS scientist holding a black carp.(Public domain.) Black Carp Biology, Status, and Selective Toxic Bait Development
Principal Investigators - Duane Chapman and Patrick Kroboth
Bigheaded Carp Sampling and Mass Removal Techniques
Principal Investigators - Duane Chapman, Josey Ridgway, Andrew Mueller, and Matthew Acre
Return to Invasive Species Ecology
Return to River Studies
- Data
Below are data or web applications associated with this project.
Survival and hydrodynamic behavior of grass carp eggs and larvae in relation to turbulence and in-stream obstructions
Data collected from a comprehensive set of hydrodynamic experiments conducted with live grass carp eggs and larvae, to evaluate drifting and swimming patterns with 3 different in-stream obstructions: (1) a gravel bump, (2) a single cylinder, and (3) submerged vegetation. The hydrodynamic behavior of eggs and larvae with each obstruction was continuously monitored for about 85 consecutive hours. TrDiet items consumed by wild-caught black carp (Mylopharyngodon piceus) in the U.S.
An inventory (enumeration and taxonomic identification) of diet items consumed by wild-caught black carp, based on the examination of gut contents from fish that were collected in the lower Mississippi River drainage of the U.S.Black carp and grass carp morphometric measurements
Black carp Mylopharyngodon piceus and grass carp Ctenopharyngodon idella are morphologically similar species imported from eastern Asia to North America as biological control organisms. Preferred identification methods are coloration and pharyngeal tooth form. Grass carp possess serrated teeth and black carp molariform teeth. Examination of pharyngeal teeth causes extensive damage to a specimen, - Publications
Below are publications associated with this project.
Black Carp in North America: A description of range, habitats, time of year, and methods of reported captures
Black Carp Mylopharyngodon piceus are considered invasive in North America. Since the first wild capture in 2003, collection records have increased, yet information summarizing successful collection methods is lacking. Reported capture methods throughout the Black Carp's native and introduced ranges vary providing minimal aid for determining control and monitoring methods. Here, we describe the cuFirst examination of diet items consumed by wild-caught black carp (Mylopharyngodon piceus) in the U.S.
Black carp (Mylopharyngodon piceus) were imported to the U.S. in the 1970s to control snails in aquaculture ponds and have since escaped from captivity. The increase in captures of wild fish has raised concerns of risk to native and imperiled unionid mussels given previous literature classified this species a molluscivore. We acquired black carp from commercial fishers and biologists, and examinedSurvival and drifting patterns of grass carp eggs and larvae in response to interactions with flow and sediment in a laboratory flume
A series of laboratory experiments was conducted to better understand the behavior of grass carp eggs and larvae in moving water in order to develop and implement new strategies for control and prediction of their dispersal and drift at early life stages. Settling velocity and density of a representative sample of eggs were estimated, and three trials of flume experiments with different flow condiOntogenetic changes in swimming speed of silver carp, bighead carp, and grass carp larvae: implications for larval dispersal
Bighead, silver, and grass carps are invasive in the waterways of central North America, and grass carp reproduction in tributaries of the Great Lakes has now been documented. Questions about recruitment potential motivate a need for accurate models of egg and larval dispersal. Quantitative data on swimming behaviors and capabilities during early ontogeny are needed to improve these dispersal modeEvidence of Asian carp spawning upstream of a key choke point in the Mississippi River
Bighead Carp Hypophthalmichthys nobilis, Silver Carp H. molitrix, and Grass Carp Ctenopharyngodon idella(collectively termed “Asian carp”) were introduced into North America during the 1960s and 1970s and have become established in the lower Mississippi River basin. Previously published evidence for spawning of these species in the upper Mississippi River has been limited to an area just downstreaComparison of size, terminal fall velocity, and density of bighead carp, silver carp, and grass carp eggs for use in drift modeling
Invasive Asian carp established in the United States spawn in the turbulent water of rivers, and their eggs and early larvae develop while drifting in the current. The eggs, which are believed to perish if they settle before hatching, are slightly denser than water and are held in suspension by water turbulence. It is possible to use egg drift modeling to assess the capability of a river to supporGenetic analysis shows that morphology alone cannot distinguish asian carp eggs from those of other cyprinid species
Fish eggs and embryos (hereafter collectively referred to as “eggs”) were collected in the upper Mississippi River main stem (~300 km upstream of previously reported spawning by invasive Asian carp) during summer 2013. Based on previously published morphological characteristics, the eggs were identified as belonging to Asian carp. A subsample of the eggs was subsequently analyzed by using molecularEffects of sediment burial on grass carp, Ctenopharyngodon idella (Valenciennes,1844), eggs
It is thought that grass carp (Ctenopharyngodon idella) eggs must remain suspended in the water column in order to hatch successfully. Using sand, the effects of varying sediment levels on grass carp eggs were tested at different developmental states and temperatures. Survival was high (15–35%, depending on temperature and trial) in the unburied treatment where eggs rested on a sand bed but were nEmbryonic and larval development and early behavior in grass carp, Ctenopharyngodon idella: implications for recruitment in rivers
With recent findings of grass carp Ctenopharyngodon idella in tributaries of the Great Lakes, information on developmental rate and larval behavior is critical to efforts to assess the potential for establishment within the tributaries of that region. In laboratory experiments, grass carp were spawned and eggs and larvae reared at two temperature treatments, one "cold" and one "warm", and tracked