Join Steve Butler, Biologist at the Kaskaskia Biological Field Station, as he discusses invasive carp (silver carp, bighead carp, grass carp, and black carp) and their reproducing populations throughout much of the Mississippi River basin. This set of fish have altered the structure and function of aquatic food webs, thereby impacting native fish assemblages.  Due to concerns about the impacts of invasive carp on aquatic ecosystems and the risks of these species spreading into the Great Lakes via the Illinois River and the Chicago Area Waterway System, considerable efforts have been undertaken to understand the ecology of these invasive fishes and implement management strategies to limit their continued expansion and mitigate their ecological impacts.

Resources: 

• Invasive Carp Regional Coordinator Committee
• Managing Invasive Carp from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
• Invasive Carp Canada
• Non-indigenous Aquatics Database:  Silver Carp, Bighead Carp, Grass Carp, Black Carp

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Was there something about this topic we didn’t cover? See something cool in nature? Let us know! Send us your question or share your everyday nature observation with us at go.illinois.edu/EEconnect, and we may share it in a future blog or podcast.

Questions? We'd love to hear from you!
Abigail Garofalo [email protected], Erin Garrett [email protected], Amy Lefringhouse [email protected] 

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