Carbon dioxide as an under-ice lethal control for invasive fishes

• Published in: Biological invasions Vol. 19; no. 9; pp. 2543 - 2552
• Main Authors: Cupp, Aaron R., Woiak, Zebadiah, Erickson, Richard A., Amberg, Jon J., Gaikowski, Mark P.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Cham Springer International Publishing 01-09-2017; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Animal populations; Biomedical and Life Sciences; Carbon dioxide; Carp; Developmental Biology; Ecology; Fish; Fish populations; Freshwater & Marine Ecology; Ice; Invasive fish; Life Sciences; Nonnative species; Original Paper; Pest control; Piscicides; Plant Sciences; Ponds; Survival; Asian carp; Toxicant; Lethal control; Piscicide; Carbon dioxide
• ISSN: 1387-3547; 1573-1464
• DOI: 10.1007/s10530-017-1462-9

Resource managers need effective tools to control invasive fish populations. In this study, we tested under-ice carbon dioxide (CO
2
) injection as a novel piscicide method for non-native Silver Carp (
Hypophthalmichthys molitrix
), Bighead Carp (
Hypophthalmichthys nobilis
), Grass Carp (
Ctenopharyngodon idella
), Common Carp (
Cyprinus carpio
) and native Bigmouth Buffalo (
Ictiobus cyprinellus
). Fish were held overwinter in nine outdoor ponds (0.04 ha surface area; 340,000 L volume) treated with no CO
2
(control), 43.5–44.0 kg CO
2
(low treatment), and 87.5–88.5 kg CO
2
(high treatment). Ponds were harvested immediately after ice-out to assess survival and condition. Resulting survival in low (mean = 32%) and high (mean = 5%) CO
2
-treated ponds was significantly lower than untreated control ponds (mean = 84%). Lethal efficacy varied across species with no Bighead Carp, Silver Carp, or Bigmouth Buffalo surviving the high CO
2
treatment. External infections were observed more frequently after CO
2
treatments (means = 49–67%) relative to untreated ponds (mean = 2%), suggesting a secondary mechanism for poor survival. This study demonstrates that CO
2
can be used as a lethal control for invasive fishes, but effectiveness may vary by species and CO
2
concentration.