Aquatic Ecosystem Health

Invasive Carp Control: Carbon Dioxide Chemical controls are a vital component of many effective Integrated Pest Management plans. Carbon dioxide (CO2) is being evaluated as a new fishery chemical for invasive carps as a general toxicant or behavioral deterrent. Administration of non-selective chemicals, such as CO2, into public waters could pose a risk to non-target organisms (e.g. native mussels...

Invasive Carp Control: Carbon Dioxide Management agencies often rely on commercial harvest for invasive carp population control. Piscicides, or fish toxicants, are an alternative method that could supplement Integrated Pest Management plans to kill and remove large quantities of invasive carps in a relatively short period of time. This non-selective removal strategy could greatly improve removal...

Invasive Carp Control: Carbon Dioxide Management agencies have identified key pinch-points where there is a need to block invasive carp passage. Recent studies have shown that carbon dioxide (CO2) can be an effective behavioral deterrent for invasive carps and could be used independently or in combination with other deterrents to reduce the risk of migration into new areas. Installation of a...

Invasive Carp Control: Carbon Dioxide Introduction of invasive carps into public waters of the United States has resulted in a large effort to limit dispersal beyond the Mississippi River watershed. Navigational structures positioned throughout most major rivers are potential pinch-points to block further range expansion into new areas. Carbon dioxide (CO2) is being evaluated as fish deterrent to...

We aim to develop a control tool for eliminating zebra mussels that exploits natural gene regulation mechanisms (RNA-induced gene silencing; RNAi) to be specific to zebra mussels without non-target effects. In addition to the nuisance they pose, Pimentel et al . estimated that zebra mussels cost the U.S. economy over $1 billion annually. Zebra mussels are among the International Union for...

As part of an ongoing project funded by the Bureau of Reclamation and lead by the Idaho Water Sciences Center (IDWSC) and Northern Rocky Mountain Research Center (NOROCK), the Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences Center (UMESC) will analyze environmental DNA samples collected at gage stations directly downstream of multiple reservoirs throughout the Columbia River Basin. The goal of this project...

Zebra ( Dreissenia polymorpha , Pallas 1771) and quagga ( D. bugensis , Andrusov 1897) mussels, collectively referred to as dreissenid mussels, are invasive bivalves native to the Ponto-Caspian region of Eurasia (Stepien et al. 2013; Benson 2018a). High fecundity and a free-swimming planktonic life stage allow for easy and rapid dispersal of dreissenid mussels (Mackie 1991; Marsden et al. 2013)...

Bigheaded carps, like other cyprinids, have specialized structures known as Weberian ossicles that increase their hearing range and sensitivity. Recent results from controlled laboratory studies have indicated that playback of a recording of an outboard boat motor was effective at altering silver and bighead carp behavior.

Red swamp crayfish ( Procambarus clarkii) and Rusty crayfish ( Faxonius rusticus ) are invasive crayfish species in nearly all Great Lakes states (https://nas.er.usgs.gov/viewer/omap.aspx?SpeciesID=217). Both species are a concern in Michigan because they can displace native crayfish populations, their feeding behavior reduces habitat for amphibians, juvenile fish, invertebrates, and waterfowl...

The pesticides 3-trifluoromethyl-4-nitrophenol (TFM) and niclosamide selectively target larval sea lampreys (Petromyzon marinus) because they have a much lower capacity to detoxify these lampricides by forming glucuronide conjugates compared to typical non-target fishes. However, if lampricide uptake overwhelms a fish's detoxification capacity, non-target mortality can result. Non-target mortality...

This study will be conducted to provide information on the avoidance behavior of larval sea lampreys in response to the lampricides 3-trifluoromethyl-4-nitrophenol (TFM) and 2’,5-dichloro-4’-nitrosalicylanilide (niclosamide). The data generated will be used to evaluate the feasibility of developing a new lampricide formulation (Bayluscide® Solid Bar) for use in the Great Lakes Fishery Commission’s...

Niclosamide (5-chloro-N-[2-chloro-4-nitrophenyl]-2-hydroxybenzamide; NIC) is the active ingredient in the 3.2% granular formulation of Bayluscide® (gB). is applied to assess populations of Sea Lamprey (Petromyzon marinus) larva that are too deep to electro fish or remove larva in habitats and too large to treat with liquid formulations of lampricides in a cost effective manner. Concerns regarding...