USGS - science for a changing world

Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences Center

 

Evaluation of Aging Structures for Silver Carp from Midwestern U.S. Rivers

Justin R. Seibert & Quinton E. Phelps. 2013.  Evaluation of Aging Structures for Silver Carp from Midwestern U.S. Rivers, North American Journal of Fisheries Management, 33:4, 839-844, DOI: 10.1080/02755947.2013.815670.  Partially funded by the  U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' Upper Mississippi River Restoration-Environmental Management Program.

Abstract

Population-level models are useful in providing information in the management Silver Carp, Hypophthalmichthys molitrix.  However, before developing population-level models, a determination of which aging structure for estimating the age of Silver Carp is needed. To the authors knowledge, no consensus has been reached on which structure should be used for estimating Silver Carp ages. One-hundred twenty Silver Carp from the Illinois, Mississippi, Missouri, and Ohio rivers were collected via electrofishing to evaluate aging structures.  Based on previous studies, evaluation of overall processing times, assessment of between-reader precision, between-reader agreement rates, and bias that may be involved with alternative structures, we recommend lapilli  otoliths be used for estimating age of Silver Carp. Future efforts should focus on validating accuracy of lapilli for estimating Silver Carp ages.

Keywords

Accessibility FOIA Privacy Policies and Notices

Take Pride in America logo USA.gov logo U.S. Department of the Interior | U.S. Geological Survey
URL: http://www.umesc.usgs.gov/documents/publications/2013/seibert_a_2013.html
Page Contact Information: Contacting the Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences Center
Page Last Modified: January 29, 2016