Asian carp reproduce across a variety of environmental conditions but specific conditions can produce mass spawning

Ann Arbor, Mich. — Asian carp can have negative impacts on ecosystems they have invaded and have reached very high numbers in some North American rivers. Asian carp are currently threatening to invaded the Great Lakes but their successful reproduction could influence whether they survive and what numbers they may reach. Additional information on Asian carp spawning could improve our ability to predict when, where, and how much Asian carp may reproduce in the Great Lakes.

To determine when Asian carp may reproduce, spawning in the Wabash River, Indiana, was monitored over three years.

Asian carp were found to reproduce across several months and a variety of environmental conditions but specific conditions (rise in water levels and certain water temperatures) could produce large spawning events. “These results demonstrate the flexibility of Asian carp to reproduce in different environments,” says study lead author Alison Coulter. This study also found that when Asian carp begin to spawn may be predictable which could help to control and detect spawning which could limit how quickly populations may increase.

Original Publication Information

Results of this study, "Predictors of bigheaded carp drifting egg density and spawning activity in an invaded, free-flowing river," are reported by A. Coulter et al. in Volume 42, Issue 1 of the Journal of Great Lakes Research, published by Elsevier, 2016.

Contacts

For more information about the study, contact Dr. Alison A. Coulter, Center for Fisheries, Aquaculture, and Aquatic Sciences, Southern Illinois University - Carbondale, 1125 Lincoln Drive, Carbondale, IL, 6290; [email protected].

For information about the Journal of Great Lakes Research, contact Stephanie Guildford, Scientific Co-Editor, Large Lakes Observatory, University Minnesota Duluth, 2205 East Fifth Street, Duluth, Minnesota, 55812-2401; [email protected]; (218) 726-8064.