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Using a Population Model to Inform the Management of River Flows and Invasive Carp (Cyprinus carpio)

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Abstract

Carp are a highly successful invasive fish species, now widespread, abundant and considered a pest in south-eastern Australia. To date, most management effort has been directed at reducing abundances of adult fish, with little consideration of population growth through reproduction. Environmental water allocations are now an important option for the rehabilitation of aquatic ecosystems, particularly in the Murray–Darling Basin. As carp respond to flows, there is concern that environmental watering may cause floodplain inundation and provide access to spawning habitats subsequently causing unwanted population increase. This is a management conundrum that needs to be carefully considered within the context of contemporary river flow management (natural, environmental, irrigation). This paper uses a population model to investigate flow-related carp population dynamics for three case studies in the Murray–Darling Basin: (1) river and terminal lakes; (2) wetlands and floodplain lakes; and (3) complex river channel and floodplain system. Results highlight distinctive outcomes depending on site characteristics. In particular, the terminal lakes maintain a significant source carp population regardless of river flow; hence any additional within-channel environmental flows are likely to have little impact on carp populations. In contrast, large-scale removal of carp from the lakes may be beneficial, especially in times of extended low river flows. Case studies 2 and 3 show how wetlands, floodplain lakes and the floodplain itself can now often be inundated for several months over the carp spawning season by high volume flows provided for irrigation or water transfers. Such inundations can be a major driver of carp populations, compared to within channel flows that have relatively little effecton recruitment. The use of a population model that incorporates river flows and different habitats for this flow-responsive species, allows for the comparison of likely population outcomes for differing hydrological scenarios to improve the management of risks relating to carp reproduction and flows.

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Acknowledgements

The authors wish to thank Brian Lawrence, Heleena Bamford and Katie Ryan of Murray–Darling Basin Authority and Andy Huxham of the Commonwealth Environmental Water Office for their support and assistance. Thanks to Mark Lintermans (University of Canberra), Chris Bice, George Giatas, Luciana Bucater, Phillipa Wilson, Josh Fredberg, Adrian Kitchingman, Lauren Dodd and Kasey Stamation for assistance with this project and to Angus Webb and the two anonymous reviewers for valuable comments on this manuscript. Dean Gilligan and Paul Brown provided carp data to support the population model, Jason Thiem provided data for Edward-Wakool and commercial fishers provided catch-effort data for the Lower Lakes and Coorong. Lower Lakes carp recruitment data was provided by Scotte Wedderburn through a project funded by The Living Murray Initiative of the Murray–Darling Basin Authority and the South Australian Department of Environment, Water and Natural Resources (DEWNR). This project was funded by the Murray–Darling Basin Authority and the case study for the Edward-Wakool River System funded by Murray Local Land Services (NSW). This paper is dedicated to the late Andrea Brumley (nee Fletcher), a true pioneer of carp research in Australia.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Arthur Rylah Institute for Environmental Research, 123 Brown Street, Heidelberg, VIC, 3084, Australia

    John D. Koehn, Charles R. Todd & Ivor G. Stuart

  2. SARDI Aquatic Sciences, Post Office Box 120, Henley Beach, SA, 5022, Australia

    Brenton P. Zampatti, Leigh Thwaites & Qifeng Ye

  3. Murray Local Land Services, 421 Swift Street, Albury, NSW, 2640, Australia

    Anthony Conallin

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  1. John D. Koehn
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Correspondence to John D. Koehn.

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Koehn, J.D., Todd, C.R., Zampatti, B.P. et al. Using a Population Model to Inform the Management of River Flows and Invasive Carp (Cyprinus carpio). Environmental Management 61, 432–442 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00267-017-0855-y

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