Exploitable biological vulnerabilities of common carp Susan L. Gehrig Leigh A. Thwaites Exploitable biological vulnerabilities of common carp Susan L. Gehrig Leigh A. Thwaites South Australian Research and Development Institute (SARDI) SARDI Aquatic Sciences West Beach, SA 2013 An Invasive Animals CRC Project Exploitable biological vulnerabilities of common carp. Report prepared for the Invasive Animals Cooperative Research Centre’s Freshwater Projects 4.F.5, 4.F.6, 4.F.11 and 4.F.12. Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this report reflect those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the Australian Government, Invasive Animals Ltd, or Invasive Animals Cooperative Research Centre. The material presented in this report is based on sources that are believed to be reliable. Whilst every care has been taken in the preparation of the report, it is “as is”, without warranty of any kind, to the extent permitted by law. Published by: Invasive Animals Cooperative Research Centre. Telephone: (02) 6201 2887 Facsimile: (02) 6201 2532 Email: [email protected] Internet: http://www.invasiveanimals.com Web ISBN: 978-1-921777-71-4 © Invasive Animals Ltd. 2013 This work is copyright. The Copyright Act 1968 permits fair dealing for study, research, information or educational purposes. Selected passages, tables or diagrams may be reproduced for such purposes provided acknowledgement of the source is included. Major extracts of the entire document may not be reproduced by any process. The IA CRC gratefully acknowledges funding support from the Australian Government through its Cooperative Research Centres Program, and the Murray Darling Basin Authority for support of our Freshwater research program. This document should be cited as: Gehrig SL and Thwaites LA (2013). Exploitable Biological Vulnerabilities of Common Carp. PestSmart Toolkit publication, Invasive Animals Cooperative Research Centre, Canberra, Australia. Front cover image: Installation of the Lake Bonney Wetland Carp Seperation Cage (SARDI Aquatic Sciences) ii Invasive Animals CRC Table of Contents List of tables and figures .............................................................................. 4 List of tables ................................................................................................. 4 List of figures ................................................................................................ 5 Summary .................................................................................................. 6 Acronyms and abbreviations ......................................................................... 9 Document scope ........................................................................................ 10 Document structure ................................................................................... 11 Introduction ............................................................................................. 12 Aims ................................................................................................... 15 Research Scope ............................................................................................ 15 Project 1: Carp spawning hotspots in the MDB .................................................. 16 Prelude ................................................................................................... 16 Reproductive biology of common carp in Australia ................................................. 16 Project Summary .......................................................................................... 16 Rationale and objectives ................................................................................. 18 Outcomes ................................................................................................... 18 Hotspots at the Basin wide scale ....................................................................... 19 Hotspots at the valley wide scale for YOY ............................................................ 21 Vulnerabilities and application ......................................................................... 24 Suggested future work ................................................................................... 25 Project 2: Carp movement and migration in the MDB ......................................... 26 Prelude ................................................................................................... 26 Population dynamics ...................................................................................... 26 Project summary .......................................................................................... 26 Rationale and objectives ................................................................................. 27 Outcomes ................................................................................................... 28 Vulnerabilities and application ......................................................................... 28 Suggested future work ................................................................................... 29 Project 3: Carp age validation in the northern MDB ........................................... 30 Project publications ...................................................................................... 30 Prelude ................................................................................................... 30 Population dynamics of carp in Australia ............................................................. 30 Project summary .......................................................................................... 30 Rationale and objectives ................................................................................. 31 Exploitable biological vulnerabilities of common carp 1 Determination of check formation in northern MDB carp populations .......................... 31 Timing of first check formation ......................................................................... 31 Outcomes ................................................................................................... 31 Water temperature ........................................................................................ 31 Young-of-the-year (YOY) otoliths ....................................................................... 32 Adult and subadult otoliths .............................................................................. 32 Vulnerabilities and application ......................................................................... 32 Suggested future work ................................................................................... 33 Project 4: Optimised wetland carp separation cages .......................................... 34 Project publications ...................................................................................... 34 Prelude ................................................................................................... 34 Habitat use of common carp in Australia.............................................................. 34 Project summary .......................................................................................... 35 Rationale and objectives ................................................................................. 35 Outcomes ................................................................................................... 35 Vulnerabilities and application ......................................................................... 39 Suggested future work ................................................................................... 39 Project 5: Population genetics of common carp in the MDB ................................. 41 Project publications ...................................................................................... 41 Prelude ................................................................................................... 41 Project summary .......................................................................................... 42 Rationale and objectives ................................................................................. 42 Outcomes ................................................................................................... 43 Vulnerabilities and application ......................................................................... 45 Suggested future work ................................................................................... 47 Project 6: Sex determination and differentiation in carp .................................... 48 Project publications ...................................................................................... 48 Prelude ................................................................................................... 48 Daughterless gene technology .......................................................................... 48 Project summary .......................................................................................... 49 Rationale and objectives ................................................................................. 49 Outcomes ................................................................................................... 50 Vulnerabilities and application ......................................................................... 50 Suggested future work ................................................................................... 51 Other candidate genes...................................................................................