First Examination of Diet Items Consumed by Wild-Caught Black Carp (Mylopharyngodon piceus) in the U.S.

Poulton, Barry C.; Kroboth, Patrick T.; George, Amy E.; Chapman, Duane; Bailey, Jennifer; McMurray, Stephen E.; Faiman, J. Scott

doi:10.1674/0003-0031-182.1.89

Cited by 15 publications

(23 citation statements)

References 28 publications

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“…Fish and other vertebrates consume infected mollusks and act as facultative hosts for A. conchicola (i.e., reservoir hosts), where adult flukes remain in the intestinal tract for extended periods after tissues of the mollusk host are digested (Rohde 1972;Evtushenko et al 1994). The fluke A. conchicola has been reported in the intestinal tract of several freshwater fish species worldwide (Alves et al 2015), including Grass Carp (Ctenopharyngodon idella) and Black Carp (Mylopharyngodon piceus) in Eurasia, and most recently, in wild-caught Black Carp of the Mississippi River Basin (Poulton et al 2019). In Eurasia, among the parasites found in Zebra Mussels (Dreissena spp.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Bivalves and gastropods in the diet are most easily identified through their shells or shell fragments, but sometimes they cannot be identified or counted because these fish partially regurgitate mollusk shell material or expel fragments without swallowing them. During recent examination of wild Black Carp diets (Poulton et al 2019), the fluke A. conchicola was commonly encountered in the gastrointestinal tract, even in fish that contained no other evidence of mollusk consumption. The ecological significance of this discovery was unknown at the time of that publication, but we recognized the need to further investigate the presence of these flukes in Black Carp and their importance to freshwater mollusks.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…As a reservoir host, Black Carp may share the same life stage of A. conchicola with the primary host mollusks, but also could serve as a source of infective organisms (Haydon et al 2002) in addition to providing evidence that primary hosts were consumed in the diet some time before capture. Here, we report the specific interpretation of fluke incidence in the gastrointestinal tract from the original 109 wild Black Carp examined (Poulton et al 2019), including the treatment of flukes as indicators of previous mollusk consumption and the potential role of Black Carp as a vector for dispersal of A. conchicola. Specifically, our study goals were to (1) report the abundance (infection rate) of A. conchicola flukes in wild Black Carp and any seasonal patterns in their numbers among fish examined, (2) provide an alternate method in estimating percent occurrence of mollusks in Black Carp diet based on the presence of flukes, and (3) test the significance of fluke and mollusk occurrence among fish of different sizes and the habitats where fish were captured.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Invasive Black Carp as a Reservoir Host for the Freshwater Mollusk Parasite Aspidogaster conchicola: Further Evidence of Mollusk Consumption and Implications for Parasite Dispersal

Poulton

Bailey

Kroboth

et al. 2021

Freshwater Mollusk Biology and Conservation

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Black Carp (Mylopharyngodon piceus) has invaded the Mississippi River and is a potential threat to native mollusks. During prior diet research, we discovered that the fluke Aspidogaster conchicola, a mollusk parasite, occurs regularly in the gastrointestinal tract of Black Carp. The fluke remains in fish intestines for extended periods after the fish has consumed its host. Flukes were found in 33% of the wild Black Carp examined, and numbers ranged from 1 to 802, with no pattern evident across seasons of fish capture. Treating the flukes as indicators of prior mollusk consumption, we adjusted the percent occurrence of mollusks from 26.6% to 54.1%, indicating that the previously reported incidences for bivalves (22.8%) and gastropods (16.5%) in the diet of wild Black Carp are likely to be underestimated. Based on percent occurrences in Black Carp, larger fish (.791 mm) had significantly higher fluke occurrence (42.6%) and fish captured from lentic habitats had significantly greater fluke-adjusted mollusk occurrence (87.5%). These diet-occurrence estimates, coupled with the presence of gravid A. conchicola and evidence of their continued viability in Black Carp intestines, indicate that these fish retain evidence of mollusk consumption for extended periods after evacuation of the gastrointestinal tract. Consequently, Black Carp has the potential to disperse this parasite to other mollusks.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Invasive Black Carp as a Reservoir Host for the Freshwater Mollusk Parasite Aspidogaster conchicola: Further Evidence of Mollusk Consumption and Implications for Parasite Dispersal

Poulton

Bailey

Kroboth

et al. 2021

Freshwater Mollusk Biology and Conservation

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“…Black Carp are benthic invertivores (Poulton et al. ), typically defined by their propensity to consume mollusk prey. They were imported to North America in the 1970s and 1980s to control trematode parasites in aquaculture, by consuming the parasite's snail intermediate hosts (Nico et al.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Black Carp Mylopharyngodon piceus are one of the four major Chinese aquaculture carps, the others being Silver Carp Hypophthalmichthys molitrix, Bighead Carp H. nobilis, and Grass Carp Ctenopharyngodon idella (Chapman and Hoff 2011). Black Carp are benthic invertivores (Poulton et al 2019), typically defined by their propensity to consume mollusk prey. They were imported to North America in the 1970s and 1980s to control trematode parasites in aquaculture, by consuming the parasite's snail intermediate hosts (Nico et al 2005).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Black Carp in North America: a Description of Range, Habitats, Time of Year, and Methods of Reported Captures

Kroboth

Cox

Chapman

et al. 2019

N American J Fish Manag

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Black Carp Mylopharyngodon piceus are considered invasive in North America. Since the first wild capture in 2003, collection records have increased, yet information summarizing successful collection methods is lacking. Reported capture methods throughout the Black Carp's native and introduced ranges vary providing minimal aid for determining control and monitoring methods. Here, we describe the current species range and the spatial and temporal variation among captures. The size of fish can affect capture; thus, we report captured fish and gear dimensions and recommend appropriate scientific collection methods. We focus on collection data from 302 Black Carp ranging from 410 to 1,607 mm total length received from 2011 to February 2019. The reported range of Black Carp has expanded in the Cumberland, Illinois, Mississippi, Missouri, Ohio, and Tennessee rivers. Captures most frequently occurred in channel (41%), side‐channel (24%), and backwater (22%) habitat types, with increased records in May, June, and July. Most records were commercial captures, of which hoop net (51%) and gill net (26%) were most common. Results suggest that standard scientific methods for sampling fish in large rivers and standing water by hoop net and gill net may be used to monitor Black Carp, but a robust study design needs to be applied to determine gear selectivity and to determine if catch rates are density dependent or incidental.

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Precision of four calcified structures for age estimation of Black Carp

Kroboth,

Herndon,

Broaddus

et al. 2024

N American J Fish Manag

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ObjectiveBlack Carp Mylopharyngodon piceus is an emerging invasive species in North America with an expanding population in the Mississippi River basin. Current aging methods use a suite of structures for age estimation, and a single structure is needed to minimize processing time, to maximize consistency of age and growth measurements, and to allow for back‐calculation of individual fish length at age.MethodsIn total, 236 Black Carp were collected throughout the year from 2017 to 2019 through incidental captures by commercial fishers and biologists. In a subsample, 119 Black Carp from 429 to 1268 mm total length were compared for the precision of annuli counts by two experienced readers for the two anterior pectoral fin rays, the anterior dorsal fin ray, sectioned vertebrae, and lapilli otoliths based on percent exact agreement (PA), percent agreement within 1 year (PA ± 1), coefficient of variation (CV), and bubble plots. Consensus annuli counts were compared by PA and CV between structures. We applied annuli counts, as opposed to age, as fish were collected during all seasons and structures were examined independently by readers without knowledge of capture date.ResultVertebrae and dorsal rays had the highest PA between readers. Dorsal ray had the lowest CV and higher PA ± 1. Pectoral rays and lapilli otoliths had the lowest PA. Between‐structure consensus annuli counts indicated that pectoral rays and the dorsal ray annuli counts were the most similar (PA >70% and CV <12) and lapilli otoliths were the most dissimilar (PA >35% and CV >24). Reader‐reported confidence was highest for vertebrae, then in decreasing order, dorsal ray, pectoral rays, and lapilli otoliths. Lumens were present in all fin rays with only minor effects observed on annuli counts, aside from the anterior‐most pectoral fin ray, in which lumens obscured the presence of one or more potential annuli in 61% of structures.ConclusionThe dorsal ray had the highest agreement between readers, with agreement with ±1 year at 98%; the structure can be efficiently extracted and processed, and the structure's morphology and growth pattern are conducive to aging older fish. Vertebrae had high agreement between readers, but a systematic pattern of double bands in vertebrae increased the between‐reader variation in older fish as the interannual growth pattern compressed the viewable area; this was identified by readers based on aging criteria and highlights the need for training novice readers. Validation of annual growth in the tested suite of structures is still needed.

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First Examination of Diet Items Consumed by Wild-Caught Black Carp (Mylopharyngodon piceus) in the U.S.

Cited by 15 publications

References 28 publications

Invasive Black Carp as a Reservoir Host for the Freshwater Mollusk Parasite Aspidogaster conchicola: Further Evidence of Mollusk Consumption and Implications for Parasite Dispersal

Invasive Black Carp as a Reservoir Host for the Freshwater Mollusk Parasite Aspidogaster conchicola: Further Evidence of Mollusk Consumption and Implications for Parasite Dispersal

Black Carp in North America: a Description of Range, Habitats, Time of Year, and Methods of Reported Captures

Precision of four calcified structures for age estimation of Black Carp

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