Prussian Carp Carassius gibelio, also referred to as Gibel Carp, is a destructive aquatic invasive species, recently found in Alberta, Canada. Three-pass electrofishing is a potential approach to control some aquatic invasive fish species in stream habitats. The objectives of this study were to 1) determine the efficacy of this strategy to control Prussian Carp in connected streams and 2) assess whether population size or the distance to the introduction site would influence removal success. We sampled sites by using electrofishing in tributaries of the Red Deer River in both the summer and fall and detected Prussian Carp at all sites before removal, with >90% probability of detection of this species within the first 120 m of electroshocking efforts. Overall, we were not successful at removing Prussian Carp from the sample sites, and we found that abundances of Prussian Carp were significantly higher postremoval. Removal success related significantly to distance to the introduction site, suggesting that removal may be useful in targeted situations close to the edge of the invasion front.
In winter, Gyrfalcon (Falco rusticolus) and Prairie Falcon (Falco mexicanus) frequent a 96-year-old grain terminal, in Edmonton, Alberta, hunting Rock Pigeon (Columba livia). This phenomenon was reviewed shortly after it was first noticed by others in 1998 and, since then, we have observed hunting success and methods of Gyrfalcons and Prairie Falcons that were similar but not identical to earlier observations, with success rates of 21.0% and 10.6%, respectively, compared with 10.6% and 26.0% earlier. The most frequently observed hunting strategy for both species was a repeated upward attack on swirling Rock Pigeon flocks, resulting in success rates of 10.7% and 11.4%, respectively. Notably, 50% of downward dive hunts made by Gyrfalcon were successful, although only eight hunts using this method were recorded. The falcons were mildly selective with respect to pigeon colour morphs, with an apparent preference for pied colouration. Contrary to previous interpretations, Rock Pigeon do not appear to eat spilled grain on the building to any great extent; instead, the terminal may simply provide abundant roosting sites, which attain surface temperatures roughly 10°C warmer than ambient on sunny days and at temperatures below −20°C when the building is warmed internally.
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