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Bigheaded carps (Hypophthalmichthys spp.) at the edge of their invaded range: using hydroacoustics to assess population parameters and the efficacy of harvest as a control strategy in a large North American river

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Abstract

The threat posed by bigheaded carps (Hypophthalmichthys spp.) to novel ecosystems has focused efforts on preventing further range expansion; upstream progression in the Illinois River is a major concern due to its connection with the uninvaded Great Lakes. In addition to an electric barrier system, commercial harvest of silver carp (H. molitrix) and bighead carp (H. nobilis) in the upper river is intended to reduce propagule pressure and prevent range expansion. To quantify demographics and evaluate harvest efficacy, the upper river was sampled between 2012 and 2015 using mobile hydroacoustic methods. Reach-specific densities, size structures and species compositions varied interannually but the advancing population was characterized longitudinally as small-bodied, silver carp-dominated at the highest densities downstream, shifting to large-bodied, bighead carp-dominated at the low-density population front. The use of hydroacoustic sampling for harvest evaluation was validated in backwater lakes; there was a significant positive correlation between density estimates and the corresponding harvest catch-per-unit-effort of bigheaded carps. Localized densities of bigheaded carps were reduced by up to 64.4 % immediately post-harvest but generally rebounded within weeks. However, annual sampling of the entire upper river indicated that density of bigheaded carps decreased by over 40 % (between 2012 and 2013) and subsequently remained stable (between 2013 and 2014). The annual harvest of bigheaded carps increased during this period (from 45,192 to 102,453 individuals), in years of contrasting discharge conditions. At this spatiotemporal scale, harvest appears to have contributed to initial reduction, and subsequent maintenance of, bigheaded carps density levels, but discharge likely plays an important role (e.g., through immigration) in determining the extent of its impact. Mobile hydroacoustic sampling enabled robust quantification of the population over varying spatial scales and density gradients, highlighting the potential of this approach as an assessment tool for invasive fishes in riverine environments.

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Acknowledgments

Funding for this study was provided by the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative, via Illinois Department of Natural Resources. We are grateful to colleagues from Southern Illinois University (G. Whitledge, M. Brey, A. Lubejko, M. Lubejko, B. Szynkowski, A. Kern, J. Rosenquist and J. Seibert) and Illinois Department of Natural Resources (M. O’Hara, D. Wyffels and T. Widloe) for assistance with various aspects of this project. We acknowledge the co-operation of the contracted fishing crews and Illinois Department of Natural Resources biologists during the Asian carps harvest program, Hansen Material Services Corporation and the Forest Preserve District of Will County for site access, Illinois Natural History Survey (Illinois River Biological Station, Havana) for providing electrofishing data, and D. Coulter, A. Coulter and two anonymous referees for providing constructive comments on earlier drafts.

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Author notes

  1. Ruairí MacNamara

    Present address: Hubbs–SeaWorld Research Institute, 2595 Ingraham Street, San Diego, CA, 92109, USA

  2. Wesley Bouska

    Present address: Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, 3550 Mormon Coulee Road, La Crosse, WI, 54601, USA

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Center for Fisheries, Aquaculture, and Aquatic Sciences, Southern Illinois University, 1125 Lincoln Drive, 251 Life Sciences II, Carbondale, IL, 62901, USA

    Ruairí MacNamara, James Garvey & Wesley Bouska

  2. Aquatic Ecology Laboratory, The Ohio State University, 221 Research Center, 1314 Kinnear Road, Columbus, OH, 43212, USA

    David Glover

  3. Illinois Department of Natural Resources, One Natural Resources Way, Springfield, IL, 61702, USA

    Kevin Irons

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  1. Ruairí MacNamara
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  5. Kevin Irons
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Correspondence to Ruairí MacNamara.

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MacNamara, R., Glover, D., Garvey, J. et al. Bigheaded carps (Hypophthalmichthys spp.) at the edge of their invaded range: using hydroacoustics to assess population parameters and the efficacy of harvest as a control strategy in a large North American river. Biol Invasions 18, 3293–3307 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10530-016-1220-4

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