Invasive Species

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...

Invasive fishes are of considerable concern to aquatic resource managers. For example, the common carp (Cyprinus carpio), originally brought over from Eurasia sometime in the 1800s are now ubiquitous in U.S. waters. Although they have been around for over 100 years and have become part of U.S. culture, they are still highly detrimental to aquatic ecosystems and a method to eradicate and control of...

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...

The deserts of the Southwest are under increasing pressure from growing human communities. The spread of cities, agricultural fields, grazing livestock, power plants, and other forms of human development in the past and present have affected the region’s natural resources, including its wildlife. WERC’s Dr. Kristin Berry is studying the response of threatened desert tortoises to changing habitats...

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.

Since their introduction in the 1960’s, grass carp ( Ctenopharyngodon idella ) have spread across the North American continent as far north as the U.S./Canadian border in the Great Lakes. Grass carp are an herbivorous species and can significantly reduce the amount of macrophytes and other plant material in a body of water. Subsequently, this can lead to many detrimental effects for certain...