BioInvasions Records (2014) Volume 3, Issue 4: 283–289
doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.3391/bir.2014.3.4.10
Open Access
© 2014 The Author(s). Journal compilation © 2014 REABIC
Rapid Communication
Adult, juvenile and young-of-year bighead, Hypophthalmichthys nobilis
(Richardson, 1845) and silver carp, H. molitrix (Valenciennes, 1844) range
expansion on the northwestern front of the invasion in North America
Cari-Ann Hayer*, Brian D.S. Graeb and Katie N. Bertrand
South Dakota State University, Department of Natural Resource Management, Box 1240B, NPB 138, Brookings, SD 57006 USA
E-mail: [email protected] (CAH), [email protected] (BDSG), [email protected] (KNB)
*Corresponding author
Received: 2 June 2014 / Accepted: 14 August 2014 / Published online: 23 September 2014
Handling editor: Vadim Panov
Abstract
Asian carps (bighead and silver carp) were collected with boat electrofishing over four years in three South Dakota tributaries to the Missouri
River at the beginning of their invasion into this region. This paper documents their annual movement upstream into these tributaries and
identifies differences in distribution by age-0, juvenile, and adults. By the end of this study in 2012, Asian carps dispersion was slowed or
halted in these tributaries due to artificial and natural barriers. These records represent the northern most records of Asian carps in North
America (46.931042, -98.708975).
Key words: South Dakota, prairie streams, flooding, establishment, reproduction
Introduction
Invasive species are becoming a worldwide
epidemic and are triggering changes in the
structure and function of invaded ecosystems
(Ricciardi et al. 2000). One pair of global invaders,
bighead, Hypophthalmichthys nobilis (Richardson,
1845), and silver carp, H. molitrix (Valenciennes,
1844), (collectively referred to as Asian carps) have
been introduced intentionally and unintentionally
throughout the world, mostly for aquaculture
purposes (Kolar et al. 2007) as they are the most
important aquaculture species in Asia and eastcentral Europe (Lieberman 1996; Penman et al.
2005). Bighead carp have been introduced to 74
countries and are reproducing in 19 and the silver
carp has been introduced to 88 countries and are
reproducing in 23 (Kolar et al. 2007). Both species
of Asian carps are currently reproducing in the
United States (Papoulias et al. 2006; DeGrandchamp
et al. 2007; Lohmeyer and Garvey 2009; Deters et
al. 2013). Asian carps were originally introduced
into the southern United States in aquaculture
ponds in the early 1970s where both species
subsequently escaped and began their expansion
through numerous dams on the Mississippi River
and into associated tributaries (e.g., Missouri River,
Illinois River, Ohio River; Kolar et al. 2007;
USGS 2014). The northern extent of the Asian
carps expansion is in the Mississippi River basin.
They could potentially colonize the Great Lakes
through the Chicago Shipping Canal (e.g., Lake
Michigan) and the Illinois River, a tributary to the
Mississippi River (Kocovsky et al. 2012). The
eastern range includes the Ohio River where they
threaten to enter the Great Lakes (e.g., Lake
Erie) through the Wabash River, a tributary to
the Ohio River, and the Maumee River, the second
largest tributary to Lake Erie (Kocovsky et al.
2012). On the northwestern part of their expansion,
Asian carps threaten to colonize three tributaries
(e.g., James, Vermillion, and Big Sioux rivers) to
the Missouri River below Gavins Point Dam, that
serve as important fish habitat for many threatened
and endangered fishes (Berry et al. 2007). These
tributaries already face disturbance from current
and present land use practices and natural
physio-chemical and hydrologic fluctuations
characteristic of prairie streams (Matthews 1988;
Poff and Ward 1989; Hayer et al. 2014a).
283
C.-A. Hayer et al.
Figure 1. Study area with standardized
sampling sites (circles) spanning the
James, Vermillion, and Big Sioux Rivers
in the eastern part of North and South
Dakota. Large barriers represent dams
that presumably Asian carp cannot pass.
1= Gavins Point Dam, 23 m high, 2 =
Jamestown Dam, 28 meters high, 3 =
Vermillion Lake Dam, 12 m high, 4 =
Sioux Falls, 8 m high. A = Shue creek, b
= Lake Byron, c = Milltown, SD, d =
Mitchell, SD.
Prior to this study, the distribution and use by
Asian carps of these three Missouri River Plains
tributaries in South Dakota were unknown.
However; one bighead carp was caught by an
angler in the middle James River near Mitchell,
South Dakota in 2008 and one silver carp was
caught by an angler in the Big Sioux River near
Canton, SD in 2004 (Kolar et al. 2005). The goal
of this paper is to document the northwestern
invasion front of adult, juvenile, and young-ofyear Asian carps in three prairie tributaries and
other South Dakota waters (e.g., lakes) by
providing the northern most latitude detection
locations.
Methods
Three prairie tributaries in South Dakota converge
with an unchannelized section (Galat et al. 2005a)
of the Missouri River just downstream of Gavins
Point Dam: the James, Vermillion and Big Sioux
rivers. Gavins Point Dam is 23 m high hydroelectric dam and is the lower most dam on the
Missouri River. No carp have been found upstream
of this barrier. The three warmwater tributaries
drain the Central Lowlands physiographic province
in South Dakota (Galat et al. 2005b) and are
characterized by low gradient streams of glacial
origin (Hoagstrom et al. 2007). The James River
(watershed area = 57,000 km2) extends 760 Rkm
from southeastern North Dakota through eastern
284
South Dakota to its confluence with the Missouri
River (Berry et al. 1993; Figure 1). The James River
contains over 200 lowhead dams (approximately
1–2 meters) that are passable by fish during high
water (Berry et al. 1993; Shearer and Berry 2003)
and 28 meter high dam in the North Dakota part
of the river (Berry et al. 1993). The Vermillion
River, the smallest basin (watershed area = 5,800
km2) extends 243 Rkm from the confluence of
West and East Fork Vermillion rivers to its
confluence with the Missouri River (Schmulbach
and Braaten 1993; Figure 1). The Vermillion
River contains one larger dam, East Vermillion
Lake Dam, which creates Vermillion Lake and is
12 m high (Hayer et al. 2014b). The Big Sioux
River (watershed area = 23,325 km2) extends 470
Rkm from the Prairie Coteau of northeastern
South Dakota to its confluence with the Missouri
River at the South Dakota-Nebraska-Iowa border
(Figure 1). The Big Sioux River contains a set of
natural falls that are deemed impassable by fish
(Dieterman and Berry 1998; Galat et al. 2005).
The highest fall is 8 m high.
Standardized boat electrofishing occurred
between 2009 and 2012 at five sites on the James
River, two sites on the Vermillion River, and
three sites on the Big Sioux River (Figure 1), all
within South Dakota. Sampling consisted of three
10 minute electrofishing runs which generally
covered three river kilometers. Sampling occurred
once during each of three seasons: spring (May –
Asian carps expansion on the northwestern front
Figure 2. Northern most collections
of silver and bighead carp adults.
Adults are 3 years old or more and
greater than 600 mm TL.
June), summer (July – August), and fall (September
– October). Additional non-standardized boat
electrofishing occurred at various sites on the
James River in North and South Dakota. Adult
carps were considered to be greater than 600 mm
TL (age 3+), juveniles were between 300 and
600 mm TL (ages 1 and 2), and age-0 were less
than 300 mm TL. Life stage ages were verified
by analyzing otoliths (Hayer et al. 2014b).
Silver carp have also only been collected in the
Big Sioux River at the confluence with the
Missouri River and were last collected on August
17, 2012 (N = 5; TL = 634–783 mm; 3260–6123 g;
Figure 2). One adult bighead carp was collected
near Mitchell (August, 31 2010) on the James
River (TL = 1001, 9072 g) and no adults have
been collected in the Vermillion or the Big Sioux
Rivers (Figure 2).
Results
Juveniles
Our data suggest that Asian carps dispersion has
been slowed or halted in these Missouri River
tributaries due to artificial and natural barriers.
These barriers are the most upstream collections
within these river basins (Figure 1) where
bighead and silver carp were detected (Figures 2
–4). These findings represent the northernmost
Asian carps detections in North America
(46.931042, -98.708975).
Twelve juvenile silver carp were collected from
Shue Creek, a tributary to the James River north
of Huron on September 27, 2011 (TL = 409 –
507; 768 – 1474 g; Figure 3). One juvenile silver
carp (450 mm, 1088 g) was subsequently collected
in North Dakota on the James River in the
Jamestown Reservoir tailrace (Figures 3, 4) on
October 12, 2011. This is the first record of
silver carp in North Dakota. Fifteen silver carp
(TL = 311–369 mm, 299–656 g) were collected
from the Vermillion River below East Lake
Vermillion dam on August 11, 2011 and nineteen
were collected in the Big Sioux River at the
confluence with the Missouri River (TL = 384 – 474
mm; 510 – 1191; Figure 3) on August 17, 2012.
Six juvenile bighead carp (415 – 509 mm TL,
822 – 1389 g) were first collected from Firesteel
Creek, a tributary to the James River near Mitchell
on September 29, 2011 and were last collected
Adults
One adult silver carp was collected as far upstream
as Milltown on the James River (TL = 752,4958 g)
on August 2, 2012 (Figure 2) and have not been
collected above the confluence of the Vermillion
River with the Missouri River where nine silver
carp were last collected on August 16, 2012 (TL
= 681 – 784 mm; 3203 – 7285 g; Figure 2).
285
C.-A. Hayer et al.
Figure 3. Northern most
collections of silver and bighead
carp juveniles. Adults are 1–2 years
old and between 300 and 600 mm
TL.
Figure 4. Juvenile silver carp collected in North Dakota on the James River below Jamestown Dam. Photograph by G. VanEeckhout.
in the Big Sioux River (N = 5; TL = 349–470 mm;
288–1389 g) on October 6, 2011 at the confluence
with the Missouri River (Figure 3). Four bighead
carp (309–372 mm TL, 299–565 g) were first
collected from the Vermillion River below the
East Vermillion Lake Dam on August 11, 2011
(Figure 3).
Age-0
Two age-0 silver carp were collected on Sept 29,
2011 in Shue Creek at the confluence with the
James River (TL = 170, 174 mm; 44, 51 g;
Figures 5,6). One young-of-year bighead carp
286
was collected on October 20, 2010 in the Big
Sioux River below the falls (TL = 298 mm, 301 g;
Figure 6).
Lakes
Two bighead carp and one silver carp (TL
approximately between 400 and 460 mm) were
collected by a commercial fisherman with a seine
pull on November 2, 2012 from Lake Byron
which is the first confirmed lentic record in
South Dakota (South Dakota Game Fish and
Parks, personal communication).
Asian carps expansion on the northwestern front
Figure 5. Northern most
collections of age-0 silver and
bighead carp. Age-0 carps were
born the year of collection and
are less than 300 mm TL.
Figure 6. Two young of year
silver carps collected in Shue
Creek, a tributary to the James
River. Photograph by C Hayer.
Discussion
The James River has over 230 low head dams
which may impede movement during normal or
low water years (Berry et al. 1993; Shearer and
Berry 2003); however, record discharge and
flooding in all basins in late 2010 and early 2011
(United States Geological Survey 2012) may
have allowed for, and facilitated their unimpeded
movement and dispersal upstream and into
normally unconnected lakes. Additionally, these
records not only represent a range expansion,
and the northernmost records in North America,
but they also represent invasion into new habitats
(e.g., smaller watersheds, limited backwaters and
floodplain lakes; Coulter et al. 2013) which are
atypical for established populations elsewhere
(e.g., Illinois River, Ohio River, middle
Mississippi River; Tucker et al. 1996; Kolar et
al. 2007; DeGrandchamp et al. 2008). It is difficult
to determine where these Asian carp populations
are in the invasion process (e.g., dispersal,
colonization, establishment, self-sustaining) as we
have not confirmed reproduction in these basins;
however, the presence of young-of-year silver
carp in the middle to upper James River suggests
287
C.-A. Hayer et al.
reproduction may be occurring within the James
River. Reproduction has been reported in the
lower Missouri River (Shrank et al. 2001; Klumb
2007; Stukel et al. 2007), but as of November
2012 has not been reported in the Missouri River
in South Dakota or Nebraska. As a direct result
of the rapid expansion and increasing abundance
of Asian carps in South Dakota (Hayer et al.
2014a), the South Dakota Game, Fish and Parks
Department issued an emergency regulation in
2012 that closed these tributaries to commercial
or recreational harvest of all bait fish in order to
prevent further spread of Asian carps. South
Dakota Missouri River tributaries support valuable
fisheries and provide habitat for several threatened
and endangered species (Berry et al. 2007).
Continued monitoring and research on this newly
invading population of Asian carps will provide
invaluable insight into complex invasive species,
assist with understanding Asian carps population
dynamics during an invasion, and expose the
negative impacts Asian carps may be having on
prairie stream ecosystems.
Acknowledgements
We would like to thank the South Dakota Game Fish and Parks
for their continued support of this project and specifically M.
Smith and G. VanEeckhout for continued updates on Asian carps
within the states. Additionally we would like to thank J Howell
for assistance with field work. We would like to thank two
anonymous reviewers for their improvements upon this
manuscript.
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Supplementary material
Table S1. First collection records for adult, juvenile, and young-of year silver and bighead carps for North and South Dakota.
Record Coordinates
Life Stage
Species
Number
Collected
State
Location
Latitude
(N)
Longitude
(W)
Record Date
Reference
Adult
Silver Carp
1
SD
James River at Milltown
43.428253
-97.802089
2 August 2012
Current Study
Silver Carp
9
SD
Vermillion River confluence
with the Missouri River
42.73362
-96.88918
16 August 2012
Current Study
Silver Carp
5
SD
Bighead Carp
1
SD
Silver Carp
12
SD
Silver Carp
1
ND
Silver Carp
15
SD
Silver Carp
19
SD
Bighead Carp
6
SD
Bighead Carp
5
Bighead Carp
Juvenile
Age-0
Big Sioux River confluence
with the Missouri River
James River near Mitchell
42.51066
-96.47855
17 August 2012
Current Study
43.70212
-97.96766
31 August 2010
Current Study
Shue Creek confluence with
the James River
44.441792
-98.115286
27 September
2011
Current Study
James River below
Jamestown Dam
46.931042
-98.708975
12 October
2011
North Dakota
Game Fish and
Parks
43.587875
-97.173394
11 August 2011
Current Study
42.51066
-96.47855
17 August 2012
Current Study
Firesteel Creek confluence
with the James River
43.70212
-97.96766
29 September
2011
Current Study
SD
Big Sioux River confluence
with the Missouri River
42.51066
-96.47855
6 October 2011
Current Study
4
SD
Vermillion River below East
Lake Vermillion Dam
43.587875
-97.173394
11 August 2011
Current Study
Silver Carp
1
SD
Lake Byron
44.566761
-98.142442
2 November
2012
Bighead Carp
2
SD
Lake Byron
44.566761
-98.142442
2 November
2012
Silver Carp
2
SD
Shue Creek confluence with
the James River
44.441792
-98.115286
29 September
2011
Current Study
Bighead Carp
1
SD
Big Sioux River below
Sioux Falls
43.43759
-96.59552
20 October
2010
Current Study
Vermillion River below East
Lake Vermillion Dam
Big Sioux River confluence
with the Missouri River
South Dakota
Game Fish and
Parks
South Dakota
Game Fish and
Parks
289