Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Diet overlap among two Asian carp and three native fishes in backwater lakes on the Illinois and Mississippi rivers

  • Original Paper
  • Published:
Biological Invasions Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Bighead and silver carp are well established in the Mississippi River basin following their accidental introduction in the 1980s. Referred to collectively as Asian carp, these species are filter feeders consuming phytoplankton and zooplankton. We examined diet overlap and electivity of Asian carp and three native filter feeding fishes, bigmouth buffalo, gizzard shad, and paddlefish, in backwater lakes of the Illinois and Mississippi rivers. Rotifers, Keratella spp., Brachionus spp., and Trichocerca spp., were the most common prey items consumed by Asian carp and gizzard shad, whereas crustacean zooplankton were the preferred prey of paddlefish. Bigmouth buffalo diet was broad, including both rotifers and crustacean zooplankton. Dietary overlap with Asian carp was greatest for gizzard shad followed by bigmouth buffalo, but we found little diet overlap for paddlefish. Diet similarity based on taxonomy correlated strongly with diet similarity based on size suggesting filtration efficiency influenced the overlap patterns we observed. Although rotifers were the most common prey item consumed by both bighead and silver carp, we found a negative relation between silver carp CPUE and cladoceran density. The competitive effect of Asian carp on native fishes may be forestalled because of the high productivity of Illinois and Mississippi river habitats, yet the potential for negative consequences of Asian carp in less productive ecosystems, including Lake Michigan, should not be underestimated.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5
Fig. 6

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Beisner BE, Ives AR, Carpenter SR (2003) The effects of an exotic fish invasion on the prey communities of two lakes. J Anim Ecol 72:331–342

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bryan SD, Robinson AT, Sweetser MG (2002) Behavioral response of a small native fish to multiple introduced predators. Environ Biol Fishes 63:49–56

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Burke JS, Bayne DR, Rea H (1986) Impacts of silver and bighead carps on plankton communities of channel catfish ponds. Aquaculture 55:59–68

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chesson J (1978) Measuring preference in selective predation. Ecology 59:211–215

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chick JH, Pegg MA (2001) Invasive carp in the Mississippi River basin. Science 292:2250–2251

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Clarke KR, Warwick RM (2001) Change in marine communities: an approach to statistical analysis and interpretation. Plymouth Marine Laboratory, Plymouth

    Google Scholar 

  • Cremer MC, Smitherman RO (1980) Food habits and growth of bighead and silver carp in cages and ponds. Aquaculture 20:57–64

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • DeVries DR, Stein RA (1991) Comparing three zooplankton samplers: a taxon specific assessment. J Plankton Res 13:53–59

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Domaizon I, Devaux J (1999) Experimental study of the impacts of silver carp on plankton communities of eutrophic Villerest reservoir (France). Aquatic Ecol 33:193–204

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Dong S, Li D (1994) Comparative studies on the feeding selectivity of silver carp Hypophthalmichthys molitrix and bighead carp Aristichthys nobilis. J Fish Biol 44:621–626

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Freeze M, Henderson S (1982) Distribution and status of the bighead and silver carp in Arkansas. N Am J Fish Manage 2:197–200

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fuller PL, Nico LG, Williams JD (1999) Nonindigenous fishes introduced into inland waters of the United States. American Fisheries Society, Bethesda

    Google Scholar 

  • Gido KB, Brown JH (1999) Invasion of North American drainages by alien fish species. Freshw Biol 42:387–399

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gu B, Schell DM, Huang X, Fuliang Y (1996) Stable isotope evidence for dietary overlap between two planktivorous fishes in aquaculture ponds. Can J Fish Aquat Sci 53(12):2814–2818

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jennings DP (1988) Bighead carp (Hypophthalmichthys nobilis): biological synopsis. USFWS, Washington

    Google Scholar 

  • Jennings CA, Zigler SJ (2000) Ecology, and biology of paddlefish in North America: historical perspectives, management approaches, and research priorities. Rev Fish Biol Fish 10:167–181

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kajak Z, Spodniewska I, Wisniewski R (1977) Studies on the food selectivity of silver carp Hypophthalmichthys molitrix (Val.). Ekol Polska 25:227–239

    Google Scholar 

  • Kozfkay JR, Scarnecchia DL (2002) Year-class strength and feeding ecology of age-0 and age-1 paddlefish (Polyodon spathula) in Fort Peck Lake, Montana, USA. J Appl Ichthyol 18:601–607

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lazzaro X (1987) A review of planktivorous fishes: their evolution, feeding behaviours, selectivities, and impacts. Hydrobiologia 146:97–167

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lewkowicz M, Lawkowicz S (1991) Effects of bighead carp (Aristichthys nobilis Rich.) stocking on zooplankton and some parameters of organic carbon cycling in carp ponds. Acta Hyrdobiol 33:115–133

    Google Scholar 

  • Li HW, Moyle PB (1993) Management of introduced fishes. In: Kohler CC, Hubert WA (eds) Inland fisheries management in North America. American Fisheries Society, Bethesda

    Google Scholar 

  • Little RC, Stroup WW, Freund RJ (2002) SAS® for linear models. SAS Institute Inc., Cary

    Google Scholar 

  • Lu M, Tang H, Shao Z, Xie L (2002) Experimental study of trophic cascade effect of silver carp (Hypophthalmicthys molitrixon) in a subtropical lake, Lake Donghu: on plankton community and underlying mechanisms of changes of crustacean community. Hydrobiologia 487:19–31

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Merrit RW, Cummins KW (1996) An introduction to the aquatic insects of North America. Kendall Hunt Publishing Company, Dubuque

    Google Scholar 

  • Minckley WL, Deacon JE (1991) Battle against extinction: native fish management in the American West. University of Arizona Press, Tucson

    Google Scholar 

  • Minckley WL, Johnson JE, Rinne JN, Wouldoughby SE (1970) Foods of buffalofishes genus Ictiobus in Central Arizona reservoirs. Trans Am Fish Soc 99:333–342

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Miranda LE, Gu H (1998) Dietary shifts of a dominant reservoir planktivore during early life stages. Hydrobiologia 377:73–83

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Miura T (1990) The effects of planktivorous fishes on the plankton community in a eutrophic lake. Hydrobiologia 200/201:567–579

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Moyle PB, Light T (1996) Biological invasions of fresh water: empirical rules and assembly theory. Biol Invasions 78:149–161

    Google Scholar 

  • Nico LG, Fuller PL (1999) Spatial and temporal patterns of nonindigenous fish introductions in the United States. Fisheries 24(1):16–27

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Omerod SJ (2003) Current issues with fish and fisheries: editor’s overview and introduction. J Appl Ecol 40:104–213

    Google Scholar 

  • Opuszynski K (1981) Comparison of the usefulness of the silver carp and the bighead carp as additional fish in carp ponds. Aquaculture 25:223–233

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Opuszynski K, Shireman JV, Cichra CE (1991) Food assimilation and filtering rate of bighead carp kept in cages. Hydrobiologia 220:49–56

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pegg MA, Lemke AM, Stoeckel JA (2002) Establishment of bighead carp in an Illinois River floodplain lake: a potential source population for the Illinois River. J Freshw Ecol 17:161–163

    Google Scholar 

  • Radke RJ, Kahl U (2002) Effects of filter-feeding fish [silver carp Hypophthalmichthys molitrix (Val.)] on phyto- and zooplankton in a mesotrophic reservoir: results from an enclosure experiment. Freshw Biol 47:2337–2344

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rosen RA, Hales DC (1981) Feeding of paddlefish, Polydon spathula. Copeia 1981(2):441–455

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schaus MH, Vanni MJ, Wissing TE (2002) Biomass-dependent diet shifts in omnivorous gizzard shad: Implications for growth, food web, and ecosystem effects. Trans Am Fish Soc 130:40–54

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schrank SJ (2000) Population characteristics of bighead carp Hypophthalmichthys nobilis larvae and adults in the Missouri River and interspecific dynamics with paddlefish Polyodon spathula. M.Sc. Thesis, Kansas State University

  • Schrank SJ, Guy CS, Fairchild JF (2003) Competitive interactions between age-0 bighead carp and paddlefish. Trans Am Fish Soc 132:1222–1228

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Simon KS, Townsend CR (2003) Impacts of freshwater invaders at different levels of ecological organisation, with emphasis on salmonids and ecosystem consequences. Freshw Biol 48:982–994

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Smith NA (2004) Feeding ecology and morphometric analysis of paddlefish, Polydon spathula, in the Mermentau River. M.Sc. Thesis, Louisiana State University, Louisiana

  • Soeken-Gittinger LA, Houser JN (2005) Chapter 4: seasonal and annual variation in nitrogen, phosphorous, and chlorophyll a. Multiyear synthesis of limnological data from 1993 to 2001 for the Long Term Resource Monitoring Program. Report 2005-T003, USGS, La Crosse, WI.

  • Starostka VJ, Applegate RL (1970) Food selectivity of bigmouth buffalo, Ictiobus cyprinellus, in Lake Poinsett, South Dakota. Trans Am Fish Soc 99:571–576

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sutela T, Huusko A (2000) Varying resistance of zooplankton prey to digestion: implications for quantifying larval fish diets. Trans Am Fish Soc 129:545–551

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tang H, Xie P, Lu M, Xie L, Wang J (2002) Studies on the effects of the silver carp (Hypophthalmichthys molitrix) on the phytoplankton in a shallow hypereutrophic lake through an enclosure experiment. Int Rev Hydrobiol 87(1):107–119

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Thorp JH, Covich AP (2001) Ecology and classification of North American freshwater invertebrates. Academic Press, San Diego

    Google Scholar 

  • Trexler JC, Loftus WF, Jordan F, Lorenz JJ, Chick JH, Kobza RM (2000) Empirical assessment of fish introductions in a subtropical wetland: an evaluation of contrasting views. Biol Invasions 2:265–277

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tucker JK, Cronin FA, Hrabik RA, Petersen MD, Herzog DP (1996) The bighead carp (Hypophthalmichthys nobilis) in the Mississippi River. J Freshw Ecol 11:241–243

    Google Scholar 

  • Welker MT, Pierce CL, Wahl DH (1994) Growth and survival of larval fishes: roles of competition and zooplankton abundance. Trans Am Fish Soc 123:703–717

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wetzel RG (2001) Limnology: lake and river ecosystems. Academic Press, San Diego

    Google Scholar 

  • Whitlow WL, Rice NA, Sweeney C (2003) Native species vulnerability to introduced predators: testing an inducible defense and a refuge from predation. Biol Invasions 5:23–31

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Williamson CJ, Garvey JE (2005) Growth, fecundity, and diets of newly established silver carp in the Middle Mississippi River. Trans Am Fish Soc 134:1423–1430

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Witte F, Goldschmidt T, Wannik J, Vanoijen M, Goudswaard K, Wittmass BN (1992) The destruction of an endemic species flock—quantitative data on the decline of the haplochromine cichlids of Lake Victoria. Environ Biol Fish 34:1–28

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Xie P (1999) Gut contents of silver carp, Hypophthalmichthys molitrix, and the distribution of a centric diatom, Cyclotella, on passage through the esophagus and intestine. Aquaculture 180:295–305

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Xie P (2001) Gut contents of bighead carp (Aristichthys nobilis) and the processing and digestion of algal cells in the alimentary canal. Aquaculture 195:149–161

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Xie P, Chen Y (2001) Invasive carp in China’s plateau lakes. Science 294:999–1000

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Yako LA, Dettmers JM, Stein RA (1996) Feeding preferences of omnivorous gizzard shad as influenced by fish size and zooplankton density. Trans Am Fish Soc 125:753–759

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

Funding for this project was provided by the National Sea Grant College Program, Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant, Illinois Department of Natural Resources, and Illinois Natural History Survey. This project would not have been completed without the assistance and patience of the Illinois River Biological Station staff (INHS), Great Rivers Field Station staff (INHS), Johnathan Yu, Lindsey Monroe, Brian Eckstein, Rob Maher (ILDNR), and Jim Beasley. All of their help and hard work is greatly appreciated. This is publication number 24 of the National Great Rivers Research and Education Center.

Author information

Author notes

  1. Schuyler J. Sampson

    Present address: Nebraska Game and Parks Commission, Lincoln, NE, 68503, USA

  2. Mark A. Pegg

    Present address: School of Natural Resources, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln, NE, 68583, USA

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Great Rivers Field Station, Illinois Natural History Survey, 8450 Montclair Ave, Brighton, IL, 62012, USA

    Schuyler J. Sampson & John H. Chick

  2. Illinois River Biological Station, Illinois Natural History Survey, Havana, IL, 62644, USA

    Mark A. Pegg

Authors
  1. Schuyler J. Sampson
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. John H. Chick
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Mark A. Pegg
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to John H. Chick.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Sampson, S.J., Chick, J.H. & Pegg, M.A. Diet overlap among two Asian carp and three native fishes in backwater lakes on the Illinois and Mississippi rivers. Biol Invasions 11, 483–496 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10530-008-9265-7

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10530-008-9265-7

Keywords

Search

Navigation