Asian Carp Research Program

USGS scientists study the life cycle of the non-native Asian carps to better understand how to manage this invasive species in the Missouri River. During the 1970s, bighead and silver carp were imported into the United States for use in aquaculture production of food fishes and biological control of plankton in aquaculture ponds and sewage treatment lagoons. Within ten years, the carp escaped confinement and spread to the waters of the Mississippi River basin and other large rivers. Today, the carp live in 23 states and their numbers are increasing exponentially.

The carp are in direct competition with native species for food and habitat. Their rapid population increase is disrupting the ecology and food web of the large rivers of the Midwest, including the Missouri River.

Staff Members

Selected Publications

Asian Carp

(Streaming Video WTTW's "Chicago Tonight")
Carp Lemonade

Chapman, D.C., 2004, Carp Lemonade: Missouri Conservationist Online, Vol. 65, No. 7
The Unusual Suspects

Chapman, D.C., 2007, The Unusual Suspects, U.S. Geological Survey, Podcast
Early Development of Four Cyprinids Native to the Yangtze River, China

Chapman, D.C., Editor, 2006, Early Development of Four Cyprinids Native to the Yangtze River, China, U.S. Geological Survey, Data Series 239, 51 p.
A comparison of complete mitochondrial genomes of silver carp Hypophthalmichthys molitrix and bighead carp Hypophthalmichthys nobilis: implications for their taxonomic relationship and phylogeny (91647)

Li, S.F., Xu, J.W., Yang, Q.L., Wang, C.H., Chen, Q., Chapman, D.C. and Lu, G. 2009. A comparison of complete mitochondrial genomes of silver carp Hypophthalmichthys molitrix and bighead carp Hypophthalmichthys nobilis: implications for their taxonomic relationship and phylogeny. Journal of Fish Biology, 74(8): 1787-1803.
Facts About Bighead and Silver Carp

N/A
Asian carp of the Genus Hypophthalmichthys (Pisces, Cyprinidae) - A biological synopsis and environmental risk assessment (91440)

Kolar, C.S., Chapman, D.C., Courteney, W.R., Jr., Housel, C.M., Williams, J.D. and Jennings, D.P. 2005. Asian carp of the Genus Hypophthalmichthys (Pisces, Cyprinidae) - A biological synopsis and environmental risk assessment. Report to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 183p.
An examination of the sensitivity of bighead carp and silver carp to Antimycin A and Rotenone (91293)

Chapman, D., Fairchild, J., Carollo, B., Deters, J., Feltz, K. and Witte, C. 2003. An examination of the sensitivity of bighead carp and silver carp to Antimycin A and Rotenone. U.S. Geological Survey, Columbia Environmental Research Center, 22p.