AUTHORS: P. Ryan Jackson, U.S. Geological Survey; Vindhyawasini Prasad, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; Henry F. Doyle, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; Amy E. George, U.S. Geological Survey; Cory D. Suski, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; Benjamin H. Stahlschmidt, U.S. Geological Survey; Jesse R. Fischer, U.S. Geological Survey; Duane C. Chapman, U.S. Geological Survey; Anne M. Herndon, U.S. Geological Survey; Curt G. Byrd, U.S. Geological Survey; Rafael O. Tinoco, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
ABSTRACT: Management of invasive carp populations in North America has long relied on harvest of adult fish. However, to effectively suppress population growth, it may be necessary to harvest invasive carp at multiple life stages, including ichthyoplankton (eggs and larvae). Despite substantial advances in understanding invasive carp reproduction requirements over the past decade, management agencies currently lack the necessary tools to control early life stage invasive carp and reduce recruitment and dispersal. An interdisciplinary team of biologists, hydrologists, and engineers has spent the past three years developing and testing a method for passive capture of invasive carp eggs and larvae drifting downstream in an open channel without disruption to navigation or conveyance. Inspired by microplastic collection systems deployed in Europe, this novel method uses a bubble screen to induce secondary flows in the channel, which redirect invasive carp eggs and larvae to passive collection gears. This presentation will summarize the results of this study to date, discuss new methods for experimentation with preserved eggs and surrogates, discuss the challenges of passive capture of ichthyoplankton in open-river conditions, and present our ongoing research and vision for the future of this emerging technology. Furthermore, insights gained from this study can inform the design of physics-based egg and larval traps, both with and without bubble screens, for monitoring and early detection. The potential for application to passive ichthyoplankton monitoring with improved probability of detection will also be discussed.
