Common Carp Research Paper

The Asian carp can only hurt the Great Lakes ecosystem. Because they eat the same food as the filter feeding fish in the food chain, competition is great. If the fish at the bottom of the food chain do not have food, then they will die off. This means that the bigger fish that eat the small fish that have died off will have no food, and so on. Therefore, there will be a mass starvation and the ecosystem will be destroyed. The native fish, such as trout and walleye, would be starved off. This will kill the fishing industry in the Great Lakes. The CBC broadcast also mentioned, “[The invasion of the Asian carp] would unravel the aquatic food web and threaten the region’s $7 billion fishing industry, and on the Ontario side, a commercial fishery worth up to $215 million a year.” With that much loss at risk, it is worth the money it is going to take to stop and prevent the Asian carp from taking over the Great Lakes.

Why are Asian Carp such an issue? Although they are mostly not direct predators, they eat up to one third of their body weight. Asian Carp to not eat other fish, but they eat plankton leaving native fish lower on the food chain competing for food to survive. Asian carp also reproduce rapidly and abundantly. A female Bighead Carp can carry up to one million eggs in a lifetime. In result of such profuse reproduction, Asian Carp are overpopulating the Great Lakes. Since, they are so outsized, they take up much space in the lakes. Asian Carp are also among the largest populated species. If Asian Carp continue to establish themselves permanently in

More than 24 billion gallons of untreated sewage waste and storm water are pumped into the lakes annually. Pollution is increasing as well, due to the cottage development, where people enjoy spending their summers relaxing. For many years, the lake habitats have been affected by pollution and habitat destruction. The market for fish is tremendous; so much so, that we have depleted our fishing resources, and have had to market on invasive species.

Average Yellow Perch length (TL) ranged from 87 (age 1) to 223mm (age 5), whereas, Pumpkinseed length ranged from 47mm (age 1) to 194mm (age 6) which is similar to other findings in many lakes in North America (Scott & Crossman 1998; Pierce, Rasmussen, & Leggett 1990). Pumpkinseed growth was constant for the first 4-5 years, then began to slow, whereas, growth in Yellow perch was constant for the first 2-3 years and began to slow which is similar to other studies (Copp, et al. 2004; Lauer & Doll 2007). This may be due to maturation age when energy is allocated to reproduction (Roff 1983). Purchase et al. (2005) studied life history traits of Yellow Perch in many Ontario lakes and found that Yellow Perch mature around age 2 (Purchase et al. 2005). Maturation age in Pumpkinseed is variable between lakes, but many reach maturity in their third year (Copp et al. 2004). Our results indicate that Pumpkinseed in this population may mature later since growth doesn’t appear to slow until after age 4-5 years.

A similar study was conducted by Garvey et al (1998), where they examined how large size affects overwinter growth and survival. Largemouth bass were taken from Hebron State Fish Hatchery in Ohio and were used to stock two reservoirs, four research ponds, and 3 pools. Both of these reservoirs were known for having very low densities of age-0 largemouth bass (Garvey et al., 1998). Age-0 fish were stocked in two length categories in the two lakes at the end of October, stocked in the experimental ponds in the middle of October, and stocked in the pools in the end of October. The reservoir tests were done to estimate natural survival rates, the pond tests were completed to compare prey availability to size without predators, and the pool tests were done so researchers could manipulate food availability (Garvey et al., 1998).

The black carp inhabits large river/lake habitats, and is native to many Pacific drainages located in eastern Asia. It is also known as snail carp, Chinese black carp, Chinese roach, black amour, or black Chinese roach. They appear blackish brown with blackish grey fins with an elongated/laterally compressed body. On average, they grow to 3+ feet and weigh an average of 33 pounds. They are known to live for 33 years. Currently, they are in research facilities in the United States, but have not been spotted in the wild. However, if they were to get into the wild, this would heavily disrupt the mussel/snail populations, downsizing them. In addition to this, other native fish, turtles, birds, and vertebrates such as raccoons, otters, and muskrats would be affected via competition for food. They can also host many pathogens, allowing infection of many other

2005). Silver Carp also exhibit diet plasticity throughout the year. Spataru and Gophen (1985) have shown that Silver Carp are non-selective and feed on the most available prey. In the Middle Mississippi River, Williamson and Garvey (2005) found that Silver Carp primarily feed upon phytoplankton from July to September and positively select for zooplankton once phytoplankton populations began decreasing in early fall. Generally, Silver Carp are planktonic filter feeders that primarily forage on phytoplankton and less commonly on zooplankton (Kolar et al. 2005, Cremer and Smitherman 1980) ; however, they have also been found to feed upon detritus and in some cases almost solely rely upon detritus as their main forage base (Kolar et al.

However, there is a growing number of fish harvested for domestic consumption (Cooke, 2007). With the motivations of fishing differing, the management of trout are considered when thinking of the quality of life. Considering the fish size, the number of fish caught and the number of attempts; “strikes” as well as the fishing environment can enable the fish population and the sport of angling a happy balance. Thus, the estimates of mortality from catch-and-release are now tied into fishery management. Scientist are discovering that other environmental factors are posing more of a danger to fish than fisherman. For example, the movement of a male fish to a nest can result in “nest abandonment” which can result in the loss of reproduction for individual fish. With the management of catch-and-release, nest abandonment is less likely to

Two of these such issues are algal blooms, caused by various cyanobacteria, and the introduction of carp into ecosystems. The effects of carp

Several native fish to Lake Michigan include; Lake Trout, Sea Lamprey, Deepwater Sculpin, Yellow Perch and Burbot (Tsehaye et al., 2014). However, these fish live in very different areas of the water and prefer different water temperature. Per the Michigan Department of Natural Resources, Menominee, White Sucker, and Longnose Sucker fish are all bottom feeders. They prey on aquatic insects, fish eggs, small clams and crayfish. White Suckers prefer warm, shallow waters, but Longnose Suckers prefer cold, deeper waters. There are various fish that cannot be found deeper than 20-30 feet such as Largemouth Bass and Yellow Perch. Largemouth Bass are significantly larger in size and will often grow longer than 20 inches, while Yellow Perch are much smaller. On average, Yellow Perch grow to be between 4 and 10 inches long. The Largemouth Bass will prey on aquatic insects, but also eat minnows and other small fish. Within the Great Lakes, there are some species of fish that live in rocky areas. Brook Trout and Rock Bass are two fish that can be found in shallow, rocky water. Both Brook Trout and Rock Bass mostly feed on aquatic insects and can sometimes be found under logs and undercut

The Carp are a family of fish native to Europe and Asia. The common carp, Cyprinus carpio, has been in the United States for over 100 years. It is considered a nuisance fish, but it doesn’t seem to do much harm to the Great Lakes our most importantly, the Mississippi River. There are four separate invasive species that are referred to as “Asian Carp”. Their names are: the bighead carp, the black carp, the grass carp, and the silver carp. A few of these carp managed to get into the Mississippi River, and eventually established breeding population.

When an Asian carp is introduced into a new environment they are known to cause harm and feed off of native species. There are 4 types of Asian carp amd they each do the same amount of damage to the environment. Some Asian carp eat plankton which is food for native mussels and other fish but if the

The Maryland rivers and bays have seen a rise in the invasive catfish population, more specifically the blue and flathead species. They are native to the Midwest, making up up 75% of fish in the Virginia and Maryland tributaries. These fish are damaging the local ecosystems because of their size and no natural predators. State and local governments have been researching possible solutions to resolve the issues but the populations of these fish spread very quickly. Though it is sorely needed some of the solutions are experimental and could possibly hurt the native species in the process.

This "mopping up" factor is a useful aide, I often get the carp feeding confidently enough, but then "starve" the swim for a time, this has the effect of getting the remaining fish to take almost anything left floating on the surface.

environment, we as fish start moving to different areas and the whole side of the lake