Jan J. Hoover
William T. Slack
James P. Kirk
Bradley R. Lewis
Steven G. George
Leandro E. Miranda
Kenneth J. Killgore
2024
<p><span>Silver carp, </span><i><span><span class="tn" data-obkms-id="DC517533-7C7F-475C-AD0B-CC5FB41B20B7" data-taxon-parsed-name="Hypophthalmichthys molitrix"><span class="genus">Hypophthalmichthys</span> <span class="species">molitrix</span></span></span></i><span>, escaped into the Lower Mississippi River (</span><abbr id="ABBRID0EJE" title="Lower Mississippi River">LMR</abbr><span>) over 50 years ago, established reproductive populations, and spread across much of the Mississippi River Basin. Demographic rates of silver carp are needed to inform decisions on control and management of this invasive species, but have not been published for the </span><abbr id="ABBRID0ENE" title="Lower Mississippi River">LMR</abbr><span>. The purpose of this paper is to report silver carp age and growth estimates from fish collected in riverine (mainstem) and backwater (lake) habitats in the </span><abbr id="ABBRID0ERE" title="Lower Mississippi River">LMR</abbr><span> during the period 2011–2019, to compare our results with populations from other geographic areas in the Upper Mississippi River drainage, and to evaluate latitudinal and habitat differences in demographic parameters. Silver carp gained weight with increasing length similarly throughout the lower and upper basin. However, annual growth rates were higher in the </span><abbr id="ABBRID0EVE" title="Lower Mississippi River">LMR</abbr><span> compared to northern rivers including the Illinois, Wabash, Missouri, and Middle Mississippi rivers. In the </span><abbr id="ABBRID0EZE" title="Lower Mississippi River">LMR</abbr><span>, regression analyses demonstrated that females were heavier in lakes than males or females in the mainstem and that females in lakes had the lowest instantaneous mortality (-0.186). Maximum age was 8 and 10 years for females and males, respectively. The largest male weighed 13.8 kg with a total length of 1022 mm, and was 7 years old. The largest female weighed 16.0 kg with a total length of 1034 mm TL, and was 7 years old. Rapid growth rates, larger sizes, and lower mortality in the </span><abbr id="ABBRID0E4E" title="Lower Mississippi River">LMR</abbr><span>, in combination with limited commercial fishing, extensive river-floodplain connectivity, and vast amounts of spawning areas, ensure that </span><abbr id="ABBRID0EBF" title="Lower Mississippi River">LMR</abbr><span> silver carp will continue to act as a source of fast-growing invasive individuals for other reaches and other rivers throughout the Mississippi River Basin.</span></p>
application/pdf
10.3391/ai.2024.19.3.133295
en
International Association for Open Knowledge on Invasive Alien Species (INVASIVESNET), and Regional Euro-Asian Biological Invasions Centre (Finland)
Population characteristics of silver carp from the source of their North American introduction in the Lower Mississippi River
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