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Data on the behavior of grass carp, silver carp, and bighead carp during laboratory exposures to the amino acids L-alanine, L-arginine, L-aspartic acid, and L-glutamic acid

November 13, 2024
These data pertain to behavior trials conducted on three different species of invasive carp in a laboratory setting between the dates of 29 April 2021 to 14 December 2021. The three species tested were grass carp (Ctenopharyngodon Idella), bighead carp (Hypophthalmichthys nobilis) and silver carp (H. molitrix). The amino acids L-alanine, L-arginine, L-aspartic acid, and L‑glutamic acid were selected for this study to analyze how exposure may impact fish behavior, with a specific focus on avoidance and attraction. Each trial involved two individuals of the same species being exposed to one amino acid and a control water. Water inputs were on each end of the long exposure chamber and drained in the center to maintain a delineation between amino acid and the control water. For each combination of species (3 total) and amino acid (4 total), we performed 10 replicates, totaling 120 trials with each trial utilizing two fish (240 individuals). The chamber and fish were recorded from overhead video cameras and fish movement and position within the chamber determined using tracking software. After the software provided the initial tracking analysis, additional manual tracking was done to address any errors that occurred due to fish overlap. Of the 120 trials conducted, 69 trials, 5 to 7 from each combination of species × amino acid, were randomly chosen and manually examined and tracked, thus fixing identity swapping for those trials. The complete set of data were not manually tracked due to limited resources; questions related to average location could still be answered without tracking the identity of each fish.
Publication Year 2024
Title Data on the behavior of grass carp, silver carp, and bighead carp during laboratory exposures to the amino acids L-alanine, L-arginine, L-aspartic acid, and L-glutamic acid
DOI 10.5066/P13NDKXF
Authors Mark L Wildhaber, Zachary D Beaman, Karlie K Ditter, Benjamin M West
Product Type Data Release
Record Source USGS Asset Identifier Service (AIS)
USGS Organization Columbia Environmental Research Center
Rights This work is marked with CC0 1.0 Universal
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