CERC Branch: River Studies

In The News

• Flooding Disperses Invasive Plant, Fish Species
  Monday, April 30, 2012
  (CBS News Money Watch)
  Last year's hurricanes and flooding not only engulfed homes and carried away roads and bridges in hard-hit areas of the country, it dispersed aggressive invasive species as well.  Read More
• The Battle Against Invasive Species Rages On
  Thursday, April 05, 2012
  (Columbia Missourian, Columbia, Missouri)
  Although science is the guiding principle behind invasive biology, there is no science to catching a fish. No one knows this better than Joe Deters. Having spent almost nine years with the Geological Survey and an incalculable amount of hours trolling the muddy Missouri River for fish, Deters still has a few tools that help. He mans the helm of a 22-foot, gray metal boat equipped with four plastic bins filled with hundreds of feet of netting, an empty water tank and two empty coolers. He speaks with a fisherman’s jargon; words such as “plunge pool” and “box dike” dot his vocabulary. He knows his enemy well — the silver carp.  Read More
• Historic Changes Afoot for Chicago River
  Thursday, March 08, 2012
  (MEDILL Reports, Chicago)
  “One problem with the electric barrier is that it only stops things that are self-propelled,” said Main. That means anything that swims will be deterred, but anything that floats will get through unharmed. Duane Chapman, a research fish biologist with the U.S. Geological Survey, said undesirable plankton have already come through. “The electronic barrier won’t do anything to stop that.”  Read More
• The Crusade Against Asian Carp -- Where Does It Go Now?
  Tuesday, February 28, 2012
  (MEDILL Reports, Chicago)
  “It seems to be working to some degree. Larger fish seem to be less common,” said Duane Chapman, leading Asian carp expert with the U.S Geological Survey. “It does seem likely, over time, the number of fish will be substantially impacted by commercial fishing.” Chapman, however, warned there is a downside to commercial fishery that people need to be aware of. “If there is a number of people having their livelihood involved in Asian carp, it would be more politically difficult [to control] Asian carp,” he said. “People would have incentive to stock the fish and move the fish around if they can make money out of them. Even if 95 percent of people hate the carp with a passion, it just takes one percent of people, or even one person, to move them around. We don't want people to do so and it is illegal to do so. But it is awfully hard to catch someone doing that,” he said.  Read More
• Scientist: Asian Carp Would Thrive in Lake Erie
  Monday, January 23, 2012
  (Sandusky Register, OH)
  Kocovsky and two other scientists, Duane Chapman and James McKenna, examined whether the Asian carp could successfully spawn in the rivers that feed into Lake Erie, taking into consideration whether the water is warm enough and other factors. They concluded that the carp could indeed reproduce.  Read More
• Advance of the Invader: Asian Carp Continue March to Northern Waters
  Friday, January 06, 2012
  (Circle of Blue)
  “People have a feeling that it only takes two fish, but, really, you have to have a certain number of fish in the right place at the right time to spawn,” Chapman said.  Read More
• Experts Scramble to Seal Off Potential Pathways for Dreaded Asian Carp Across Great Lakes Area
  Thursday, September 01, 2011
  (Newser)
  According to the report, the riskiest site outside Chicago is the 700-acre Eagle Marsh near Fort Wayne, Ind. There, outlying waters from the carp-infested Wabash River sometimes mingle with the headwaters of the Maumee River, a tributary of Lake Erie. That could produce a disaster, said Duane Chapman, a U.S. Geological Survey fish biologist. Erie is the shallowest and warmest of the Great Lakes and has the most abundant fishery.  Read More
• Ancient Fish Gets Techno Boost
  Wednesday, August 17, 2011
  (High Country News)
  Tracking and monitoring larval and adult pallids in the Missouri is critical to understanding the species' historical decline and current status. But pallids live 15 feet beneath the surface of the Missouri, obscured by a sunless sweep of clouded current that stretches for several thousand miles to the river's confluence with the Mississippi. That's where DIDSON comes in.  Read More
• Asian Carp: DNA Evidence Finds Something Fishy Near Lake Michigan
  Friday, August 05, 2011
  (Christian Science Monitor)
  The failure of a recent expedition to find any invasive Asian carp near Lake Michigan – though DNA traces say they are there – has shipping interests claiming victory and others calling foul. They point to testimony given last year at a federal hearing by Duane Chapman, an Asian carp expert with the US Geological Survey, who supported the reliability of DNA sampling and said that more-traditional methods are not as effective in detection.
   Read More
• Chance of Oil Spill Rises with Floodwaters: Displaced Sediment Leaves Pipeline Beneath Riverbeds Exposed to Dangers
  Thursday, August 04, 2011
  (Wall Street Journal)
  USGS scientist Robert Jacobson was quoted in a Wall Street Journal article by Jack Nicas, entitled, "Chance of Oil Spill Rises with Floodwaters: Displaced Sediment Leaves Pipeline Beneath Riverbeds Exposed to Dangers".  Read More
• The Truth About Asian Carp
  Sunday, July 17, 2011
  (Detroit Free Press)
  Starting on July 17, "The Truth About Asian Carp", a six-part news documentary series by Tina Lam of the Detroit Free Press was released <http://www.freep.com/article/20110717/NEWS06/307170001>. These online multimedia articles features invasive species research and public sentiment on the Asian carp. Part of the articles focus on the USGS Columbia Environmental Research Center and fisheries scientist, Duane Chapman and colleagues. In addition to these articles, Chapman was also featured in an online web chat with the Detroit Free Press on July 20, a Q&A interview on invasive carp issues and the Great Lakes <http://www.freep.com/article/20110717/OPINION05/110715050/Web-chat-today-noon-Experts-take-your-questions-about-Asian-carp?odyssey=mod%7Cnewswell%7Ctext%7COpinion%7Cs>.  Read More
• Scientist Questions Flood Benefits of Public Lands Along Missouri River
  Tuesday, July 05, 2011
  (Columbia Missourian)
  Public lands along the Missouri River don't soak up nearly as much floodwater as previously believed. At least that's the initial conclusion of Robb Jacobson, who has studied the river for two decades. The idea of publicly managed wetlands warding off big floods was "wishful thinking," he said, and couldn't be backed by science. "For large floods, unless we have a lot more of these flood plains and wetlands, it's unlikely they'll store a big enough volume to attenuate the flood," Jacobson said. "Locally, they'll have an effect. But systematically, they won't."  Read More
• Missouri River Flooding is Taking a Toll on Outdoor Recreation
  Saturday, June 25, 2011
  (Kansas City Star, Kansas City, MO)
  Fisheries officials are concerned that this could be a banner year for Asian carp, the invasive species that is causing so many problems in the Missouri River. The species, known for its prolificacy, has established a stronghold in the river. But officials fear a population explosion this year. “The Asian carp love these conditions,” said Duane Chapman, a fisheries biologist for the U.S. Geological Survey. “They have their best (spawning) years in high water.”  Read More
• Mississippi Flooding May Have Spread Asian Carp
  Friday, June 10, 2011
  (Associated Press, Mary Foster)
  Duane Chapman, a U.S. Geological Survey biologist and Asian carp expert, says the fish are likely to show up in places where Mississippi floodwaters intruded. They can weigh up to 100 pounds, grow 4 feet long and live for 25 years.
  
  TIME.com
  http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,2076901,00.html
  Sacramento Bee, Sacramento, CA
  http://www.sacbee.com/2011/06/10/3690989/mississippi-flooding-may-have.html
  Washington Post, Washington, D.C.
  http://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/food/some-experts-fear-mississippi-river-flooding-may-have-spread-invasive-asian-carp-downstream/2011/06/10/AGhaucOH_story.html
  Chicago Tribune, Chicago, IL
  http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/breaking/chibrknews-mississippi-flooding-may-have-spread-asian-carp-20110610,0,5800481.story?track=rss
  ABC 7, Chicago, IL
  http://abclocal.go.com/wls/story?section=news/national_world&id=8183527
  St. Louis Post-Dispatch, St. Louis, MO
  http://www.stltoday.com/news/state-and-regional/missouri/article_bfd30386-ba9e-511c-b37b-903e8b64cf8f.html
  Times Union, Albany, NY
  http://www.timesunion.com/news/article/Mississippi-flooding-may-have-spread-invasive-fish-1418791.php
  Bloomberg Businessweek.com
  http://www.businessweek.com/ap/financialnews/D9NP62P80.htm
  LiveScience.com
  http://www.livescience.com/14552-mississippi-flooding-asian-carp.html
  Newsday.com
  http://www.newsday.com/news/nation/mississippi-flooding-may-have-spread-invasive-fish-1.2946409
  Daily Reporter, Greenfield, IN
  http://www.greenfieldreporter.com/view/story/eafba05054994957b4ea30d9777b4d12/LA--River-Flooding-Asian-Carp/
  Forbes.com
  http://www.forbes.com/feeds/ap/2011/06/10/business-us-river-flooding-asian-carp_8510819.html
  Boston Globe, Boston, MA
  http://www.boston.com/news/science/articles/2011/06/11/floods_may_widen_spread_of_invasive_carp/
   Read More
• Flood Risk Determines Wetland Restoration Potential Along Missouri River
  Friday, June 10, 2011
  (USGS News Release)
  High or low flood risks can determine where wetland restoration might occur on the lower Missouri River, according to a new study by the U.S. Geological Survey Columbia Environmental Research Center and the Nature Conservancy’s Missouri River Program.
  Contact: Robert Jacobson, 573-876-1844  Read More
• Researchers: Western Lake Erie Could Support Growth of Asian Carp
  Thursday, June 02, 2011
  (Detroit Free Press, Detroit, MI)
  Three Asian carp were found in Lake Erie over the past 15 years, and they appeared quite healthy and were apparently growing rapidly, said Duane Chapman, a U.S. Geological Survey scientist and one of the authors of the new paper.  Read More
• Record Precipitation, Reservoir Releases to Cause Missouri River Flooding
  Wednesday, June 01, 2011
  (Columbia Missourian)
  The forecast flood levels are the result of record releases of water from reservoirs on the upper Missouri River in Montana and the Dakotas. The upper Missouri River basin received a year’s worth of rain in the past few weeks, and snow pack runoff into the upper portion of the river is 140 percent of normal, according to the Weather Service.  Read More
• Army Corps to Release Carp Barrier Study Soon
  Monday, February 28, 2011
  (Journal Sentinel, Milwaukee, WI)
  U.S. Geological Survey biologists and Asian carp expert Duane Chapman, meanwhile, said if the barrier as it is operating isn't strong enough to repel fish smaller than 6 inches, "there would still be a very substantial degree of protection" for the Great Lakes.  Read More
• No Rush Job on Carp Study
  Thursday, February 17, 2011
  (Journal Sentinel, Milwaukee, WI)
  The public is clamoring for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to speed up its five-year study on how to permanently block Asian carp from migrating up the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal and into Lake Michigan, but Army Corps officials say it's going to take time - at least another four years.  Read More
• Meet Pallid Sturgeon 1094 — Beacon for a Species
  Wednesday, December 22, 2010
  (Columbia Missourian)
  She’s out there somewhere in the Missouri River currents, carrying clues as to why her kind is in danger. A transmitter, previously placed in her belly, chirps like a cricket every 10 seconds; her name is the same as the unique audio code that the transmitter emits — 1094.  Read More
• Columbia Researchers Study Intersex Sturgeon in Missouri River
  Tuesday, December 07, 2010
  (Columbia Missourian)
  Ecologist Aaron DeLonay, with the U.S. Geological Survey, holds a shovelnose sturgeon netted just east of Jefferson City on the Missouri River that he estimates to be 3 or 4 years old Oct. 29. DeLonay and a small team of scientists go out on the river frequently to check on the reproductive condition of a more rare fish, the pallid sturgeon, to see, and in some cases ensure, successful reproduction. Whenever DeLonay and his team catch a pallid sturgeon that they have not caught before, they implant a tracking device that, other than tracking water depth and temperature, can be used to determine if the fish mated.  Read More
• Fish Give Biologists a Challenge
  Monday, October 25, 2010
  (Columbia Daily Tribune)
  Robin Calfee sets up an experiment last Monday to see what scents attract Asian carp. Calfee, a biologist with the U.S. Geological Survey’s Columbia Environmental Research Center, is studying the behavior of Asian carp in an attempt to figure out ways to control their population.  Read More
• Have Asian Carp Met Their Match?
  Thursday, September 30, 2010
  (Battle Creek Enquirer, Battle Creek, MI)
  "They can eat other things besides plankton," said Duane Chapman, a U.S. Geological Survey fisheries biologist. "They are very flexible fish."  Read More