Experimental Data on Preserving, Rehydrating, and Dyeing Invasive Grass Carp (Ctenopharyngodon idella) Eggs for use in Transport and Dispersal Control Experiments

Invasive grass carp (Ctenopharyngodon idella) pose substantial ecological threats to North American freshwater ecosystems, and understanding their early life-stage behavior is warranted for management efforts. However, availability of live eggs is limited and their use in field experiments risks further spread of the species. Additionally, current efforts to replicate the physical characteristics and behaviors of live eggs is challenging. These data were used to characterize fluorescein-dyed preserved grass carp eggs as surrogates for live eggs in laboratory and field experiments. Preserved grass carp eggs were rehydrated and dyed with varying fluorescein concentrations for various amounts of time. Dye retention, egg visibility under a blacklight lamp, diameters and settling velocities were measured and reported to compare them with live eggs.