Graduate Assistant/ Teaching Assistant - Integrated Science and Technology
Courses Taught:  Fall 2008: BIO 105 Lab   Syllabus 

Resume

Assessment of Asian carp populations in three pools of the Ohio River

The intention of my thesis is to assess the populations of fish in the genus Hypophthalmichthys in three pools of the Ohio River.  This will be conducted in three general pursuits.  Those will be overnight gill net sets, plankton trawls, and exploration with mixed gear.

Experimental gill nets (125 ft length, 8 feet depth, 1, 2,3,4, and 5 in bar mesh) will be placed at  15 randomly selected ORSANCO electrofishing sites in the Dashields, Hanable, and Smithland pools of the Ohio River.  They will be set in the early afternoon, fished overnight, and picked in the morning. Total soak time will never exceed 24 hours.  Fish will be identified to species, weighed, and measured (total/ standard length).  Live fish will be promptly returned to the water.   These paired electrofishing and gillnet sites will enable us to make comparisons between the efficiency and bias (size/ species recruitment) of the two gear types (specifically for large bodied asian carp).  

A plankton net (1m diameter opening, 2m length, and 500 µm bar mesh) will be hung in the water column for enough time (based on observed daily flow rates) to sample approximately 100m² water . The net will be fished 2 meters behind an anchored boat.   Temperature, flow, dissolved oxygen, hardness, turbidity and pH will be measured for each individual sampling event using a Hach Hydrolab Quanta.   Eggs will be removed from the sample before fixing in 90% ethanol.  Removed eggs will be incubated in an aerated solution of distilled water and 300-500 mg/L calcium carbonate (Gonzal et al. 1987) for 4 days to promote maximum hatching and identification.   After incubation larvae and unhatched eggs will be returned to their respective samples.    Larval fish and plankton will be identified to lowest possible taxonomic classification.  Densities of specific genera will be calculated and compared with water quality, flow, and seasonal data using a stepwise linear regression.   This data will be used to create a locally appropriate formula to predict larvae/ egg densities. 

The intention of the exploration with mixed gear is to attempt to find the “leading edge” of the invasion in the Ohio River.  The gear used will include; Boat and backpack electrofishing, hand seining, and gillnetting outside of ORSANCO sites.  It will target areas that the literature identifies as habitat for silver and bighead carp.  Areas targeted will be large tributary mouths, backwater areas, and areas with high concentrations of aquatic and emergent macrophites .  The latter two are believed to be important for the development of juveniles. This investigation will extend up navigable tributaries of the Ohio River (eg. Kanawha River) and will only be a presence/ absence study.  No subsequent population characteristics will be investigated. 

L & N Cave, Cave City, Kentucky

Typhlichthys subterraneus Photo: Sean Collins

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