Invasive Carp

Biological production represents the total amount of living material (biomass) that was produced during a defined period of time. This production is important because some of it is used for food and some is valued for recreation, it is a direct measure of total ecosystem processes, and it sustains biological diversity. Production is a measure of energy flow, and is therefore a natural currency for...

The results from this study will provide protocols for the collection, processing and analysis of environmental deoxyribonucleic acids (eDNA) samples for monitoring aquatic invasive species like Asian carp. These protocols have the potential to be used by fishery management agencies to monitor aquatic invasive species throughout the United States.

The USGS Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences Center (UMESC) provides regulatory affairs assistance to the Great Lakes Fishery Commission (GLFC), U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO), state and private partners in matters regarding numerous registrations of the lampricides TFM and niclosamide in the U.S. and Canada. The result of this technical...

Attempts to control carp, Cyprinus carpio, populations in Minnesota (and elsewhere) date back to early 1900s (Moyle et al. 1950, Moyle and Kuehn 1964). Early efforts focused on removing large numbers of adult carp, often by targeting their winter aggregations using seine nets. Such was the strategy in Minnesota in 1930s and 40s, where carp were systematically removed with nets in dozens of lakes...

Carbon dioxide (CO2) has shown promise as a deterrent to silver carp (Hypophthalmichthys molitrix) and bighead carp (H. nobilis) movement during laboratory (Kates et al. 2012, Dennis et al. 2015) and pond testing (Donaldson et al. 2016, Cupp et al. in journal review). To further understand the utility of CO2 to limit the dispersal of bigheaded carps, continued research into this technology is...

Invasive carps, primarily silver carp ( Hypophthalmichthys molitirx ), bighead carp ( H. nobilis ), and grass carp ( Ctenopharyngodon idella ), have caused considerable ecological and economic damage in the United States. Resource managers need tools to control populations and limit range expansion of these undesired fish. Carbon dioxide (CO2) is one approach being evaluated as a potential non...

The results of this study will advance our understanding of environmental DNA (eDNA) and how eDNA signatures change as fish behavior changes over the course of the open water season. This will further develop eDNA as an easy sampling method to collect information about invading populations or cryptic species that are difficult to capture so that resource managers can be given better information to...

Aquatic invasive species are a significant problem throughout the world. They cause millions of dollars in damages to industry, devastate natural ecosystems, and ruin outdoor recreational areas. Preventing their spread is imperative to preserving our natural resources. One potential pathway invasive fishes can spread is by harvesting and transporting baitfish. Often shipments of baitfish are...

Bigheaded carp, especially silver (Hypophthalmichthys molitrix) and bighead carp (Hypophthalmichthys nobilis), are invasive fish species that have established breeding populations dominating large regions of the Mississippi Drainage in the 20 years following escape from aquaculture facilities in Arkansas

Currently, prevention of the movement of bigheaded carps from the Mississippi watershed into the Great Lakes rests on a single electric barrier located in the Chicago Area Waterway System (CAWS). Additional barriers and/or supplements to the electric barrier would improve the efficacy of deterring bigheaded carps movement into the Great Lakes through redundancy and ‘safety nets’, and offer greater...

The unpredictability of nucleic acid degradation in the environment has plagued the ability of scientists to interpret environmental DNA (eDNA) data since the technique has been used for early detection of aquatic invasive species (AIS) such as silver and bighead carps (Hypophthalmichthys molitrix and Hypophthalmichthys nobilis) throughout the Chicago Area Waterway System (CAWS), Des Plaines River...

The unpredictability of DNA degradation in the environment has plagued the ability of scientists to interpret environmental DNA (eDNA) data since the technique has been used for early detection of aquatic invasive species (AIS) such as silver and bighead carps (Hypophthalmichthys molitrix and Hypophthalmichthys nobilis) throughout the Chicago Area Waterway System (CAWS), Des Plaines River, near...