Lecture 5. September 5, 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 be somewhat cold. We will be on the water for 4-5 hours. We will probably leave for Champaign at 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 hours on the ride back to town.

Asian Carp

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 species that 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).Watson 2004

fathead minnow bluntnose minnow bullhead minnow

Bullhead minnow Fathead minnow Bluntnose minnow

Black acara Butterfly Peacock mayan cichlid

Swamp Eel Family Synbranchidae Snakehead Family Channidae

Round Goby

Sea Lamprey - Invaded Great Lakes when the Welland Canal was created around 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 competitive pressure 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 was the 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. What is the rationale behind this? What are some of the drawbacks? List 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 mean for its importation and transportation? Can fish be transported between states? Can fish be transported within states? What are the drawbacks of having legislation concerning exotic species protocols at the state level?