Carpiodes carpio
Encyclopedia
The common name of Carpiodes carpio is the river carpsucker. It is one of the 324 fish species found in Tennessee
. This article is about the Carpiodes carpio, also known by its common name the “River Carpsucker.” What follows is a paper detailing a monitoring plan for this species. This fish species has a slightly arched back and it is somewhat stout and compressed. While the fins are usually opaque, in older fish they may be dark yellow. Carpiodes carpio is distributed along the Mississippi river basin from Pennsylvania to Montana. As a sucker, Carpiodes carpio is a bottom feeder and obtains its nutrients from silt, with items such as algae, microcrustaceans, and other various tiny plantonic plants and animals. The Carpiodes carpio will typically live from about two to four years, however it is possible for a member of the species to survive for up to ten years. The River Carpsucker will begin to reproduce typically in late spring, and the female will usually release more than 100,000 eggs. Carpiodes carpio will reach sexual maturity when they are around two or three, and the temperature of the water must be between 18.3° to 19.1° C. After releasing and fertilizing their eggs, all parental care is ended. The River Carpsucker is a challenge to catch on hook and line, due to it's feeding habits. In fact, it is known to be one the most difficult fish to catch in North America. Adults eat plankton
, diatoms, and insect
larvae. A small chunk of night crawler will work on occasion, but these fish school tightly, have exellent senses of hearing and vibration
and if seen, will often dart to the depths of
the river. To make things even more difficult, they have extremely sensitive mouths, so they may taste your hook and spit out the bait.
Lastly, the fish will also dormant cycles and will not move for hours.
graphic Distribution of Species
The Carpiodes Carpio has historically occupied the Mississippi River basin from Pennsylvania to Montana. It also currently occupies the Gulf Slope Drainage from the Calcasieu River to the Rio Grande in Texas, Louisiana, and New Mexico. Carpiodes Carpio also occupies Lake Erie and the lower Maumee River, Ohio, but it is not native in these areas. It was supposedly deliberately introduced with a shipment of buffalo fish as a game species, and they are currently used in sport fishing. The effects of the introduction of Carpiodes Carpio have not been studied and are therefore not well known. However, due to the lack of natural predators, it can only be assumed that the population is steadily growing in those areas. In the spring, they migrate upstream as the water temperatures begin to rise, and then they move back downstream after spawning. They have been known to travel distances of up to 10km.
Ecology
The physical appearance of the Carpiodes Carpio is fairly distinctive. They are stout, with a back that is a little bit compressed and arched. The area around their dorsal fin is olive-brown before it fades to silver, with a white belly. In the young the fins are usually opaque, while in the old their fins are a dark yellow. Their lower lip is projected in a similar fashion to a nipple at the midpoint, and big scales cover their whole body. They also have a distinctive eighteen caudal fin rays.
The Carpiodes Carpio is classified as a suction, or filter feeder, which means that it typically eats algae, or small planktonic animals and plants. They get their nutrients from filtering silt and detritus. As a bottom-feeder, Carpiodes Carpio does not have very much competition, so its main worry is predation. It is typically preyed on by bigger carnivorous fish such as Northern Pike, Muskellunge, Walleye, and Largemouth Bass, but only in its juvenile state. The largest predator that they have would be humans, although some larger birds like Great Blue Herons have been known to eat them. The Carpiodes Carpio can be found in large rivers and reservoirs, preferably with a sand or silt bottom paired with a slower-moving current. The young will typically be found in small streams, or tributaries. Carpiodes Carpio are more abundant in areas with slower water velocity and moderate temperatures.
Life History
The age at which Carpiodes Carpio reaches reproductive maturity varies by sex, with males being two to three, while females are three to four. During breeding season, small tubercles will be observed on the body of the male. Reproduction will typically occur during the later part of spring in large spawning groups. The female has the ability to spawn more than once per year, and will usually release more than 100,000 eggs. The eggs are typically adhesive and demersal with a diameter of about 1.7. to 2.1 mm, and they typically hatch within eight to fifteen days. In order to spawn, the temperature of the water must fall within the range of 18.3 to 19.1°C, and spawning will end around the beginning of summer when water temperatures begin to rise. Carpiodes Carpio have no parental care, instead they broadcast their eggs onto the sand and then leave them. Their lifespan is typically about two to four years old, however certain individuals have lived up until the age of ten. They are schooling fish and will often be found in large groups.
Current Management
Carpiodes Carpio is in no way considered endangered or even threatened, and they gain no special status on the US Federal List. On the contrary, many fisheries officials are proposing possible management plans to prevent their population from taking over. There are currently no established management plans, but they are frequently caught by commercial fisherman for culinary purposes, even though they are not officially considered a game species, which is helping to keep the population down. However, there are a few areas in their geographic range where they are in large abundance. They are very plentiful in Elephant Butte Reservoir in New Mexico, and also in Caballo Reservoir in Texas. They also can be affected by humans, their population begins reducing rapidly with the introduction of toxins into their habitat. However, this is not a viable management option. While it does decrease their population, the use of toxins also has the ability to affect many other organisms that are part of the same ecosystem. Toxins should only be used as a last resort, if Carpiodes Carpio begins to become a nuisance.
Management Recommendations
The population of Carpiodes Carpio is not currently a problem within any of their ranges, but it does have the potential to be one someday. Due to natural predators, their population is kept fairly in check within their native range, but that is not true for the areas where they were introduced. A possible management plan for the areas where they are exotic is to introduce larger numbers of their natural predators that are native to that area. This will be a beneficial situation all around, because the population of Carpiodes Carpio will decrease, while the population of several popular game fish will increase, which will increase revenue of fishing licenses in those areas. After this is done and a significant amount of time has passed, officials can begin sampling the areas where they were previously abundant to see if there has been any population change at all. There are many different sampling methods, but electrofishing would work the most efficiently in the type of habitat that Carpiodes Carpio lives in. The best method of electrofishing for this particular species is by using the boat mounted model, due to their typically deep habitat, and all that is needed in addition to the electroshocker is a dip net. Testing would take place in known areas of abundance, and they would be every six months to a year in order to give the predator population time to establish itself. No areas need to be set aside in order to protect Carpiodes Carpio due to its current population size, and it is actually the invasive species that should probably be removed in most instances.
Tennessee
Tennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States. It has a population of 6,346,105, making it the nation's 17th-largest state by population, and covers , making it the 36th-largest by total land area...
. This article is about the Carpiodes carpio, also known by its common name the “River Carpsucker.” What follows is a paper detailing a monitoring plan for this species. This fish species has a slightly arched back and it is somewhat stout and compressed. While the fins are usually opaque, in older fish they may be dark yellow. Carpiodes carpio is distributed along the Mississippi river basin from Pennsylvania to Montana. As a sucker, Carpiodes carpio is a bottom feeder and obtains its nutrients from silt, with items such as algae, microcrustaceans, and other various tiny plantonic plants and animals. The Carpiodes carpio will typically live from about two to four years, however it is possible for a member of the species to survive for up to ten years. The River Carpsucker will begin to reproduce typically in late spring, and the female will usually release more than 100,000 eggs. Carpiodes carpio will reach sexual maturity when they are around two or three, and the temperature of the water must be between 18.3° to 19.1° C. After releasing and fertilizing their eggs, all parental care is ended. The River Carpsucker is a challenge to catch on hook and line, due to it's feeding habits. In fact, it is known to be one the most difficult fish to catch in North America. Adults eat plankton
Plankton
Plankton are any drifting organisms that inhabit the pelagic zone of oceans, seas, or bodies of fresh water. That is, plankton are defined by their ecological niche rather than phylogenetic or taxonomic classification...
, diatoms, and insect
larvae. A small chunk of night crawler will work on occasion, but these fish school tightly, have exellent senses of hearing and vibration
and if seen, will often dart to the depths of
the river. To make things even more difficult, they have extremely sensitive mouths, so they may taste your hook and spit out the bait.
Lastly, the fish will also dormant cycles and will not move for hours.
graphic Distribution of Species
The Carpiodes Carpio has historically occupied the Mississippi River basin from Pennsylvania to Montana. It also currently occupies the Gulf Slope Drainage from the Calcasieu River to the Rio Grande in Texas, Louisiana, and New Mexico. Carpiodes Carpio also occupies Lake Erie and the lower Maumee River, Ohio, but it is not native in these areas. It was supposedly deliberately introduced with a shipment of buffalo fish as a game species, and they are currently used in sport fishing. The effects of the introduction of Carpiodes Carpio have not been studied and are therefore not well known. However, due to the lack of natural predators, it can only be assumed that the population is steadily growing in those areas. In the spring, they migrate upstream as the water temperatures begin to rise, and then they move back downstream after spawning. They have been known to travel distances of up to 10km.
Ecology
The physical appearance of the Carpiodes Carpio is fairly distinctive. They are stout, with a back that is a little bit compressed and arched. The area around their dorsal fin is olive-brown before it fades to silver, with a white belly. In the young the fins are usually opaque, while in the old their fins are a dark yellow. Their lower lip is projected in a similar fashion to a nipple at the midpoint, and big scales cover their whole body. They also have a distinctive eighteen caudal fin rays.
The Carpiodes Carpio is classified as a suction, or filter feeder, which means that it typically eats algae, or small planktonic animals and plants. They get their nutrients from filtering silt and detritus. As a bottom-feeder, Carpiodes Carpio does not have very much competition, so its main worry is predation. It is typically preyed on by bigger carnivorous fish such as Northern Pike, Muskellunge, Walleye, and Largemouth Bass, but only in its juvenile state. The largest predator that they have would be humans, although some larger birds like Great Blue Herons have been known to eat them. The Carpiodes Carpio can be found in large rivers and reservoirs, preferably with a sand or silt bottom paired with a slower-moving current. The young will typically be found in small streams, or tributaries. Carpiodes Carpio are more abundant in areas with slower water velocity and moderate temperatures.
Life History
The age at which Carpiodes Carpio reaches reproductive maturity varies by sex, with males being two to three, while females are three to four. During breeding season, small tubercles will be observed on the body of the male. Reproduction will typically occur during the later part of spring in large spawning groups. The female has the ability to spawn more than once per year, and will usually release more than 100,000 eggs. The eggs are typically adhesive and demersal with a diameter of about 1.7. to 2.1 mm, and they typically hatch within eight to fifteen days. In order to spawn, the temperature of the water must fall within the range of 18.3 to 19.1°C, and spawning will end around the beginning of summer when water temperatures begin to rise. Carpiodes Carpio have no parental care, instead they broadcast their eggs onto the sand and then leave them. Their lifespan is typically about two to four years old, however certain individuals have lived up until the age of ten. They are schooling fish and will often be found in large groups.
Current Management
Carpiodes Carpio is in no way considered endangered or even threatened, and they gain no special status on the US Federal List. On the contrary, many fisheries officials are proposing possible management plans to prevent their population from taking over. There are currently no established management plans, but they are frequently caught by commercial fisherman for culinary purposes, even though they are not officially considered a game species, which is helping to keep the population down. However, there are a few areas in their geographic range where they are in large abundance. They are very plentiful in Elephant Butte Reservoir in New Mexico, and also in Caballo Reservoir in Texas. They also can be affected by humans, their population begins reducing rapidly with the introduction of toxins into their habitat. However, this is not a viable management option. While it does decrease their population, the use of toxins also has the ability to affect many other organisms that are part of the same ecosystem. Toxins should only be used as a last resort, if Carpiodes Carpio begins to become a nuisance.
Management Recommendations
The population of Carpiodes Carpio is not currently a problem within any of their ranges, but it does have the potential to be one someday. Due to natural predators, their population is kept fairly in check within their native range, but that is not true for the areas where they were introduced. A possible management plan for the areas where they are exotic is to introduce larger numbers of their natural predators that are native to that area. This will be a beneficial situation all around, because the population of Carpiodes Carpio will decrease, while the population of several popular game fish will increase, which will increase revenue of fishing licenses in those areas. After this is done and a significant amount of time has passed, officials can begin sampling the areas where they were previously abundant to see if there has been any population change at all. There are many different sampling methods, but electrofishing would work the most efficiently in the type of habitat that Carpiodes Carpio lives in. The best method of electrofishing for this particular species is by using the boat mounted model, due to their typically deep habitat, and all that is needed in addition to the electroshocker is a dip net. Testing would take place in known areas of abundance, and they would be every six months to a year in order to give the predator population time to establish itself. No areas need to be set aside in order to protect Carpiodes Carpio due to its current population size, and it is actually the invasive species that should probably be removed in most instances.