TY - JOUR
T1 - Food habits and relative abundances of native piscivores
T2 - implications for controlling common carp
AU - VanMiddlesworth, Todd D.
AU - Sass, Greg G.
AU - Ray, Bradley A.
AU - Spier, Timothy W.
AU - Lyons, John D.
AU - McClelland, Nerissa N.
AU - Casper, Andrew F.
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2016, Springer International Publishing Switzerland.
PY - 2017/12/1
Y1 - 2017/12/1
N2 - Common carp (Cyprinus carpio, carp) are a widespread and ecologically destructive invasive fish species. Carp management is critical for maintaining healthy aquatic ecosystems, and many control options are available, but most have proven to be ineffective. Carp abundances have increased at The Nature Conservancy’s Emiquon Preserve, Illinois, since its restoration in 2007 despite management efforts to suppress this species. We conducted a comparative diet study in Illinois, Tennessee, and Wisconsin to test whether bowfin (Amia calva), spotted gar (Lepisosteus oculatus, gar), and largemouth bass (Micropterus salmoides) commonly preyed upon carp. We focused on bowfin and gar because they are hypoxia-tolerant, similar to carp. We also assessed whether specific fish community characteristics were correlated with carp relative abundances. We found no evidence that bowfin, gar, and bass consumed large numbers of carp. However, carp may be limited in some ecosystems (e.g., Reelfoot Lake, Tennessee) through alternative mechanisms associated with bowfin, gar, bass, and bluegill (Lepomis macrochirus) included in a diverse native fish community.
AB - Common carp (Cyprinus carpio, carp) are a widespread and ecologically destructive invasive fish species. Carp management is critical for maintaining healthy aquatic ecosystems, and many control options are available, but most have proven to be ineffective. Carp abundances have increased at The Nature Conservancy’s Emiquon Preserve, Illinois, since its restoration in 2007 despite management efforts to suppress this species. We conducted a comparative diet study in Illinois, Tennessee, and Wisconsin to test whether bowfin (Amia calva), spotted gar (Lepisosteus oculatus, gar), and largemouth bass (Micropterus salmoides) commonly preyed upon carp. We focused on bowfin and gar because they are hypoxia-tolerant, similar to carp. We also assessed whether specific fish community characteristics were correlated with carp relative abundances. We found no evidence that bowfin, gar, and bass consumed large numbers of carp. However, carp may be limited in some ecosystems (e.g., Reelfoot Lake, Tennessee) through alternative mechanisms associated with bowfin, gar, bass, and bluegill (Lepomis macrochirus) included in a diverse native fish community.
KW - Bowfin
KW - Common carp
KW - Feeding habits
KW - Floodplain restoration
KW - Largemouth bass
KW - Spotted gar
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U2 - 10.1007/s10750-016-2866-8
DO - 10.1007/s10750-016-2866-8
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:84979992261
VL - 804
SP - 89
EP - 101
JO - Journal of Aquatic Ecosystem Health
JF - Journal of Aquatic Ecosystem Health
SN - 0018-8158
IS - 1
ER -