Aquatic Ecosystem Health

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)...

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...

Lampricides are usually ordered and produced in large quantities every two or three years depending on projected need. The majority of the lampricides are used within three years. The chemical stability of lampricides stored under normal standard operating procedures is not known beyond three years. Product that has been stored for more than 3 years has to be tested for percent active ingredient...

Invasion of dreissenid mussels (zebra and quagga mussels, Dreissena polymorpha and D. rostriformis bugensis, respectively) into the Great Lakes and Mississippi River Basins has resulted in estimated economic impacts as high as $1 billion annually for maintenance and repair of biofouled water conveyance systems and other infrastructures (Pimentel et al. 2005).

With this study, we will validate the use of microparticles to selectively deliver a control agent to feral bigheaded carps. Prior controlled studies conducted in ponds at the Columbia Environmental Research Center (CERC) in Columbia, Missouri indicated that microparticles could be used to deliver antimycin to bigheaded carps while not impacting non-target species like Largemouth Bass and Grass...

This study is designed to be a high-throughput alternative to traditional methods of using whole fish assays to screen compounds for toxicity. This approach involves an initial pre-screening of a chemical databank to select molecules possessing characteristics identified as predictive criteria for potential toxicity to the fathead minnow, followed by cytotoxicity screening of selected compounds...

Expansion of bigheaded carps Hypophthalmichthys spp. throughout North American waterways have prompted the need for control systems that can alter their movement and/or behavior. The avoidance response of bigheaded carps to the sound of an outboard motor (0.06-10 kHz) has lead researchers to investigate sound as a means to manipulate their movements.

The results from this study will provide the base for future human food safety studies that are required by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to approve an immediate release fish sedative. These data will support the potential approval of an immediate release fish sedative that can be efficiently used by fishery managers throughout the U.S.

The results from this study will provide the base for drug residue studies that are required by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to evaluate the risk to people that might eat a recently sedated fish. These data will support the potential approval of an immediate release fish sedative that can be efficiently used by fishery managers throughout the U.S.