Exploiting the innate behaviour of common carp, <i>Cyprinus carpio,</i> to limit invasion and spawning in wetlands of the River Murray, Australia

Conallin, Anthony; Smith, Benjamin; Thwaites, L.; Walker, Keith F.; Gillanders, Bronwyn M.

doi:10.1111/fme.12184

Cited by 21 publications

(13 citation statements)

References 62 publications

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“…As summer progressed, the female egg quantity (i.e., GSI) declined, as did the corresponding separation efficiency; similar results were found during cage trials at wetland inlets (Conallin et al. ). These biological data provide a strong context for interpreting performance of the Williams’ cage, and we suggest that spring is the crucial time to remove the largest, most fecund prespawn females at maximum harvest efficiency.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 76%

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Control of Globally Invasive Common Carp: An 11‐Year Commercial Trial of the Williams’ Cage

Stuart

Conallin

2018

N American J Fish Manag

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The Common Carp Cyprinus carpio is a major pest fish in Australia, North America, New Zealand, and parts of Europe. The Williams’ carp separation cage was developed to separate Common Carp from native fish as they pass through fishways by exploiting their strong migratory and unique jumping behaviors. We report on an 11‐year commercial application of the Williams’ cage at Lock 1 on the lower Murray River (southeast Australia), where a high biomass of Common Carp resides. Between November 2007 and January 2018, the cage was operated by a collaborative team of river managers, weir keepers, commercial fishers, and researchers. To date, approximately 723 metric tons of adult Common Carp (~289,431 fish) have been captured at a maximum rate of 5 metric tons/d. These fish were marketed for a total return of over AU$0.90 million, far exceeding setup costs. Catches and separation efficiencies were highest in austral spring, when fish were migrating to spawn, and bycatch of nontarget native fish was practically zero (0.03%). Population modeling indicated that a combination of commercial carp fishing, low inflows, and the Williams’ cage has caused a significant reduction in Common Carp numbers in the lower Murray River. The Williams’ cage has now successfully moved from an experimental idea to full commercial viability, and at Lock 1 it is playing a valuable role in controlling the dispersal and abundance of globally invasive Common Carp.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 76%

“…For wetlands, there has been some successful application of the Williams’ cage, but these initiatives tend to be opportunistic rather than permanent as at the Lock 1 fishway (Conallin et al. ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Control of Globally Invasive Common Carp: An 11‐Year Commercial Trial of the Williams’ Cage

Stuart

Conallin

2018

N American J Fish Manag

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“…These variable outcomes should inform prospective management actions. Flows that provide access to off-channel wetlands and floodplains; key spawning and recruitment habitats for carp, can substantially influence carp population dynamics (Stuart and Jones 2006a, b;Conallin et al 2012Conallin et al , 2016. Carp population growth can occur not just through natural flooding or the provision of environmental water, but also in association with the delivery of irrigation flows and other water management scenarios in rivers managed for consumptive use.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Using a Population Model to Inform the Management of River Flows and Invasive Carp (Cyprinus carpio)

Koehn

Todd

Zampatti

et al. 2017

Environmental Management

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Carp are a highly successful invasive fish species, now widespread, abundant and considered a pest in south-eastern Australia. To date, most management effort has been directed at reducing abundances of adult fish, with little consideration of population growth through reproduction. Environmental water allocations are now an important option for the rehabilitation of aquatic ecosystems, particularly in the Murray-Darling Basin. As carp respond to flows, there is concern that environmental watering may cause floodplain inundation and provide access to spawning habitats subsequently causing unwanted population increase. This is a management conundrum that needs to be carefully considered within the context of contemporary river flow management (natural, environmental, irrigation). This paper uses a population model to investigate flow-related carp population dynamics for three case studies in the Murray-Darling Basin: (1) river and terminal lakes; (2) wetlands and floodplain lakes; and (3) complex river channel and floodplain system. Results highlight distinctive outcomes depending on site characteristics. In particular, the terminal lakes maintain a significant source carp population regardless of river flow; hence any additional within-channel environmental flows are likely to have little impact on carp populations. In contrast, large-scale removal of carp from the lakes may be beneficial, especially in times of extended low river flows. Case studies 2 and 3 show how wetlands, floodplain lakes and the floodplain itself can now often be inundated for several months over the carp spawning season by high volume flows provided for irrigation or water transfers. Such inundations can be a major driver of carp populations, compared to within channel flows that have relatively little effecton recruitment. The use of a population model that incorporates river flows and different habitats for this flow-responsive species, allows for the comparison of likely population outcomes for differing hydrological scenarios to improve the management of risks relating to carp reproduction and flows.

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“…Behaviour is also a component of pest management strategies in wild ecosystems. Specialized traps that harness the jumping and pushing behaviour of European carp (Cyprinus carpio) effectively remove this species from wetlands where it is invasive (Stuart et al 2006;Thwaites et al 2010;Conallin et al 2016).…”

Section: Innate Behaviours Of Fishmentioning

confidence: 99%

Challenges and benefits of applying fish behaviour to improve production and welfare in industrial aquaculture

Macaulay

Bui

Oppedal

et al. 2020

Reviews in Aquaculture

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An understanding of behaviour is used in zoos, laboratories and agriculture to reduce stressful aspects of the captive environment for animals. While fish are one of the most cultivated of all vertebrate groups, incorporating their behaviour into production management has proved elusive. Here, we evaluate the current evidence base relating to use of (i) innate behaviours of fish and (ii) their ability to learn new behaviours via human‐mediated training or through social learning, in fish farms. Studies that tested habituation and conditioning (training) as a tool to improve welfare demonstrate positive effects for improving fish welfare and coping capacity. However, methods solely reliant on innate behavioural responses to stimuli will always be imperfect, due to variation in individual responses which are often context dependent. To date, there has been no successful demonstration of social learning as a tool for aquaculture. While many experimental scale studies report promising results, few have translated to commercial scale, highlighting a mismatch between theoretical and practical use and cautions against extrapolation of results from small‐scale studies to commercial situations. While some promising evidence exists that fish behaviour can be integrated into farm management, logistical and scale‐related hurdles must be overcome before this can occur. We conclude that fish behaviour is an additional and currently under‐researched resource that could be integrated into farm practices to improve production and welfare in industrial aquaculture.

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Exploiting the innate behaviour of common carp, Cyprinus carpio, to limit invasion and spawning in wetlands of the River Murray, Australia

Cited by 21 publications

References 62 publications

Control of Globally Invasive Common Carp: An 11‐Year Commercial Trial of the Williams’ Cage

Control of Globally Invasive Common Carp: An 11‐Year Commercial Trial of the Williams’ Cage

Using a Population Model to Inform the Management of River Flows and Invasive Carp (Cyprinus carpio)

Challenges and benefits of applying fish behaviour to improve production and welfare in industrial aquaculture

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