Lecture 5. September 5, 2008 - Asian Carp & Introduced Species

1. Who are the Carps?

2. Details on common, grass carp, silver, bighead, and black carp.- Why were they introduced?- What do they do?- Are they problematic?

3. Reasons why fish are introduced into our waters?

Saturday - trip to Illinois River Station at Havana

Leave from the Vivarium at 8 am.

Bring a lunch.

We will mainly be out on the boats, but we will bring waders also. It might besomewhat cold.

We will be on the water for 4-5 hours. We will probably leave for Champaignat 3 or 4pm.

Dinner on the road if we are running late. Bring some $$.

Just to be safe, bring a change of clothes. You don’t want to be wet for 2 hourson the ride back to town.

Asian Carp

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2002/09/26/eveningnews/main523372.shtml

Common Carp - Cyprinus carpio

Grass Carp - Ctenopharyngodon idella

Bighead Carp - Hypophthalmichthys nobilis  Silver Carp - Hypophthalmichthys molitrix

Black Carp - Mylopharyngodon piceus

The term “Asian Carp” can be used to refer to any of these 5 speciesthat have been introduced in the U.S.

Common Carp

Silver carp

Grass carp

Bighead carp

Black carp

Common Carp

Big head carp

Silver carp

Silver Carp jump out of the water and sometimes hurt people.

They compete with some of our most enigmatic fishes such as paddlefish.

Will Silver & Bighead Carp make it into Lake Michigan?

Silver carp

Bighead carp

The commercial fisherman who captured the Louisiana specimen reported catching "different-looking grass carp" for the past eight years. Another (or the same fisherman?) reports catching two-three a year for about 12 years (Watson 2004).

fathead minnow

bluntnose minnow

bullhead minnow

Bullhead minnow Fathead minnow Bluntnose minnow

Black acara

Butterfly Peacock

mayan cichlid

Swamp EelFamily Synbranchidae

SnakeheadFamily Channidae

Round Goby

Sea Lamprey - Invaded Great Lakes when the Welland Canal was createdaround Niagara Falls.

Alewife - Also invaded Great Lakes after creation of Welland Canal.

-At time, no big predators due to large numbers of sea lamprey so alewife populations exploded.

-Now valued as a forage food for salmonids, but exert strong competitivepressure on whitefish & perch.

Review Questions.

1. What species are “Asian Carp”? There are two different answers to this questions. Are “Asian Carp” a monophyletic group?

2. How did the various species of Asian Carp end up in the U.S.? What wasthe rationale for bringing them here? Which species are currently problematic?How do they effect their communities?

3. Some people advocate only using triploid individuals of carp for stocking. Whatis the rationale behind this? What are some of the drawbacks? List 2.

4. List 7 reasons why exotic species get introduced. For each reason, name a species that has been introduced and explain the effect it has had.

5. In your opinion, will Black Carp become another problematic exotic species? Defend your answer.

6. Black Carp have been listed as an “Injurious Species.” What does this meanfor its importation and transportation? Can fish be transported between states? Can fish be transported within states? What are the drawbacks of having legislationconcerning exotic species protocols at the state level?