The Great Lakes Invasion: The Spread of Asian carp from the Illinois River into Lake Michigan
Adam Smith
Keywords: Invasive Species, Lake Michigan, Asian carp, Great Lakes, Illinois River
SummaryAquatic invasive species are a prevalent issue in many of the natural bodies of water throughout the world. Asian carp are one the most destructive and dominant aquatic invasive species that reproduces quickly and outcompetes native species. In the Illinois River, Asian carp have spread and multiplied to the point where other bodies of water, such as the Great Lakes, have become threatened. Spread of this species into Lake Michigan will threaten both American and Canadian water bodies as Asian carp multiply rapidly and spread throughout the drainage basins and surrounding bodies of water to Lake Michigan. This study focuses on the introduction and spread of this species through the Illinois River, the threat of Asian carp, the mitigation techniques already in place, and future management techniques to stop the spread of Asian carp into the Great Lakes.
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Figure 1: Study Area of Illinois River and Great Lakes watershed
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Ecological Genealogy
The focus of this case study is the Illinois River and its connection to the Lake Michigan and the Great Lakes. The Illinois River flows from northeast Illinois, where it connects with the Chicago Area Waterway System (CAWS), an engineered connector to Lake Michigan, to southwest Illinois, where it connects with the Mississippi River and eventually flows south into the Gulf of Mexico (Figure 1).
This region has a rich history of Indigenous inhabitation. There were many Native American tribes that occupied the region including the Peoria, Kaskaskia, Cahokia, Michigamea, and Tamoroa (Wohl, 2013). In the late 1600’s the numbers of Illinois Native Americans were numbered close to 10,000 (Illinois State Museum (ISM), 2000). Beginning in the 1700’s, pressures ranging from diseases to attacks on Native American tribes by European colonizers led to great declines in Illinois Native American numbers (ISM, 2000). In the early 1800’s population dynamics began to change as Native American numbers declined and European settlers moved in. Fur traders had decimated the beaver populations for economic gain along the river resulting in a massive decrease in the floodplains of the region that were previously created by beaver dams. (Wohl, 2013). This greatly altered the surrounding wetlands of the Illinois river and decreased the biodiversity of the region. By the early nineteenth century European colonizers began to take part in the biological opportunities that the Illinois river provided by creating agricultural and transportation infrastructure in and around the river (Wohl, 2013). |
Figure 2: Chicago Area Waterway System
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In 1822, Daniel Cook, a prominent congressman and member of the Committee on Public Lands, began the idea of a canal that would connect the Illinois River to Lake Michigan to increase shipping opportunities, which was then authorized in 1827, and completed in 1848 (Wohl, 2013). Of course, the presence of a major water body through an ever-increasing industrialized city led to high levels of pollution. In the 1890’s a secondary canal was created to distill this pollution and was completed in 1900 (Wohl, 2013). This network of canals, now known as Chicago Area Waterway System (CAWS) (Figure 2), is now facing a much more difficult challenge with the presence of invasive species spread, in particular Asian carp. Many initiatives have begun to stop the spread of Asian carp into the Great Lakes, including the presence of an electric barrier.
Asian carp were first introduced to the United States in the 1960’s and 1970’s for their use in aquaculture but made their way into the Mississippi and Illinois Rivers through the process of floods (Canadian Electronic Library (Firm), & Great Lakes Commission, 2012; Great Lakes Sea Grant Network, 2017). This has led to concern as the species has reproduced extensively and spread throughout much of the Mississippi and Illinois River basins. Furthermore, the idea of Asian carp reaching Lake Michigan and spreading further throughout the Great Lakes water system, decimating native species populations within those ecosystems is troublesome. For example, in 2010 an Asian carp was caught in Lake Calumet, beyond the electric barrier of the CAWS, miles from Lake Michigan (Schwieterman, 2015), further emphasizing the need for management techniques to halt the spread of this invasive species. This raises concern primarily based on the issues that Asian carp play on native species in ecosystems. Asian carp are highly adaptable and cause damage to ecosystems through decreasing water quality, high interspecies competition because of dietary overlap, and high reproduction rates (Boros et al., 2014). The introduction of such a species into Canadian waters will decimate local populations quickly and can very much easily spread throughout drainage basins across eastern Canada.
present tense
Today, the Illinois River and Lake Michigan experience high levels of use, ranging from recreational to commercial. Being large bodies of water adjacent to many major cities, the Illinois River and Lake Michigan are used for recreational fishing and boating as well as for transportation of goods via shipping routes throughout much of eastern North America. These uses have their influences on the ecological integrity of these ecosystems, altering ecosystem function, transporting non-native and invasive species, and disrupting habitat size and structure. This has increased the risk at which aquatic invasive species introduction and dispersal can occur within these bodies of water.
Currently the Great Lakes Region reports approximately 184 non-native species (Escobar et al., 2018), thus applying many pressures to native species that exist within this region. Of these species, a few aquatic invasive species stand out, including the zebra mussel (Dreissena polymorpha) and Asian carp. As previously discussed, Asian carp were introduced in the 1960’s and 1970’s for use in aquaculture but quickly spread throughout the Mississippi and Illinois River basins. Asian carp is a broad term that is used to describe a variety of carp species including Silver carp (Hypophthalmichthys molitrix), Bighead carp (Hypophthalmichthys nobilis), Grass carp (Ctenopharyngodon idella), and Black carp (Mylopharyngodon piceus) (Figure 3) (Great Lakes Sea Network, 2017). These species are considered invasive as they outcompete and reproduce much faster than native species, altering the biophysical make-up of the rivers that they occupy. One example of such is the influence of Asian carp on gizzard shad. A study by Irons et al. (2007) found that the presence of Asian carp in the Illinois River resulted in a significant decline of the body condition of gizzard shad and bigmouth buffalo. The Asian carp in the Illinois River typically feed on plankton, vegetation, and mollusks, outcompeting native species for these resources, and make up over 90% of the fish biomass within this river (Great Lakes Sea Network, 2017). With such high densities, the Asian carp disturb and remove aquatic vegetation, increasing turbidity and sediment concentrations within the water column. This results in less clear waters that become occupied by algae and cyanobacteria, which can be detrimental to species such as waterfowl, amphibians, insects, and other fish (Escobar et al., 2018). The ways in which Asian carp alter their ecosystems provide great concern for the fragile Great Lakes ecosystem, as the establishment and dispersal of these species within the Great Lakes will be hard to control. Asian carp are found in many of the tributaries leading to a variety of the Great Lakes, however the Illinois River has seen the greatest abundance and Lake Michigan is at high risk for Asian carp establishment.
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Figure 3: Subspecies of Asian carp
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The introduction of Asian carp into the Great lakes will have adverse effects on the native population but will also disrupt the commercial fishing industry, which is currently valued at $7 billion annually (Tsehaye, 2013). This region is particularly difficult to manage for due to the high traffic and use of the Illinois River and the CAWS. The CAWS typically sees 30 million tons of cargo move through its waters annually (Schwieterman, 2015). With such high traffic and usage, many complications arise to the halting of Asian carp through this waterway system. These complications are also quite costly as millions of dollars are spent yearly on control and management methods for both Canadian and American mitigation techniques (Escobar et al., 2018).
Figure 4: Electric barriers along the CAWS
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Current management techniques include the use of electric barriers along the CAWS that stun and deter the fish from moving towards Lake Michigan (Figure 4), however this technique is not 100% effective in halting movement (Canadian Electronic Library (Firm), & Great Lakes Commission, 2012). Other management techniques that have been pondered include the use of pesticides, modified lock operations, and complete separation of the Illinois River and Lake Michigan through the removal of the CAWS (Schwieterman, 2015). Achieving separation however, would cost upwards of $3 billion and take until 2029 (Schwieterman, 2015). These current management techniques provide temporary relief of aquatic invasive species establishment in the Great Lakes but are in no sense a final solution to this problem. |
Future trajectories
There are multiple trajectories that may take place in the case of Asian carp dispersal and establishment in the Great Lakes. To maintain current management techniques and a ‘business as usual’ attitude towards the problem will likely delay but inevitably result in Asian carp establishment in Lake Michigan and other Great Lakes. Increasing the barriers and separation between the Illinois River and Lake Michigan will be costly and lengthy but will result in a smaller (but not zero) chance of Asian carp dispersal beyond the CAWS. Deploying some of these costly and lengthy techniques of separation could lead to 75%-95% of Asian carp being kept out of Lake Michigan (Schwieterman, 2015). If we are to continue the high usage of this river system, both recreationally and commercially, multiple strategies must be implemented to stifle the distribution of aquatic invasive species between these various ecosystems and further reduce the chances of Asian carp entering Lake Michigan to 100%.
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Figure 5: Separation barrier along the CAWS
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The Illinois River and its connection to the Great Lakes through the CAWS are natural ecosystems in a minimal sense. The presence of invasive species and high anthropogenic presence has resulted in emerging hybrid and novel ecosystems (Hobbs et al., 2014). The CAWS itself is a designed ecosystem (Higgs, 2017) with a wide array of human-made canals and systems that traverse the landscape. In relation to surrounding tributaries and riverine environments, the Illinois River, CAWS, and Michigan Lake are quite similar. The Asian carp has spread throughout many of the waterways of North America, altering the ecological function and integrity of historically continuous ecosystems. The Asian carp have spread themselves throughout the Mississippi River and many of its major tributaries, changing the biophysical make-up of those river ecosystems (Boros et al., 2014). Human-made controls have further altered these ecosystems to slow and remove the presence of these invasive species, pushing these ecosystems farther into novel or designed conditions.
This region of the world has seen major changes to the physical landscape as it has evolved from traditional indigenous use, to early colonization and industrialization, to modern day recreational and commercial use. This area will see further changes as climate change influences the water levels and shape of the river. The return to a natural environment is out of reach but a novel ecosystem free of invasive species is possible with proper management and intensive controls to halt the spread of this system altering species, Asian carp.
This region of the world has seen major changes to the physical landscape as it has evolved from traditional indigenous use, to early colonization and industrialization, to modern day recreational and commercial use. This area will see further changes as climate change influences the water levels and shape of the river. The return to a natural environment is out of reach but a novel ecosystem free of invasive species is possible with proper management and intensive controls to halt the spread of this system altering species, Asian carp.
References:
Boros, G., Mozsár, A., Vitál, Z., S. Nagy, A., & Specziár, A. (2014). Growth and condition factor of hybrid (bighead hypophthalmichthys nobilis richardson, 1845 × silver carp H. molitrix valenciennes, 1844) Asian carps in the shallow, oligo‐mesotrophic Lake Balaton. Journal of Applied Ichthyology, 30(3), 546-548. doi:10.1111/jai.12325
Canadian Electronic Library (Firm), & Great Lakes Commission. (2012). Restoring the natural divide: Separating the Great Lakes and Mississippi River basins in the Chicago area waterway system. Ann Arbor, MI: Great Lakes Commission.
Escobar, L. E., Mallez, S., McCartney, M., Lee, C., Zielinski, D. P., Ghosal, R., . . . Phelps, N. B. D. (2018). Aquatic invasive species in the Great Lakes region: An overview. Reviews in Fisheries Science & Aquaculture, 26(1), 121-138. doi:10.1080/23308249.2017.1363715
Great Lakes Sea Grant Network. (2017). Education and outreach on Asian carp: In support of the Asian Carp Regional Coordinating Committee. Retrieved from https://greatlakesseagrant.files.wordpress.com/2016/10/glsgn-asian-carp-report.pdf
Higgs, E. (2017). Novel and designed ecosystems. Restoration Ecology, 25(1), 8-13. doi:10.1111/rec.12410
Hobbs, R. J., Higgs, E., Hall, C. M., Bridgewater, P., Chapin, F. S., Ellis, E. C., . . . Yung, L. (2014). Managing the whole landscape: Historical, hybrid, and novel ecosystems. Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment, 12(10), 557-564. doi:10.1890/130300
Illinois State Museum. (2000). The Illinois History: The Illinois Decline. Retrieved from http://www.museum.state.il.us/muslink/nat_amer/post/htmls/hi_decline.html
Irons, K. S., Sass, G. G., McClelland, M. A., & Stafford, J. D. (2007). Reduced condition factor of two native fish species coincident with invasion of non‐native Asian carps in the Illinois River, U.S.A. is this evidence for competition and reduced fitness? Journal of Fish Biology, 71(sd), 258-273. doi:10.1111/j.1095-8649.2007.01670.x
Schwieterman, J. P. (2015). Environmental reviews and case studies: Stopping the Asian carp and other nuisance species: Cost projections for separating the Great Lakes and Mississippi River basins using U.S. Army Corps of Engineers inputs. Environmental Practice, 17(4), 291-301. doi:10.1017/S1466046615000320
Tsehaye, I., Catalano, M., Sass, G., Glover, D., & Roth, B. (2013). Prospects for Fishery‐Induced collapse of invasive Asian carp in the Illinois River. Fisheries, 38(10), 445-454. doi:10.1080/03632415.2013.836501
United States Environmental Protection Agency. (N.d.) Chicago Area Waterway System/Chicago River. Retrieved from https://www.epa.gov/il/chicago-area-waterway-system-chicago-river
Wohl, E. E. (2013). Wide rivers crossed: The South Platte and the Illinois of the American prairie. Boulder: University Press of Colorado
Canadian Electronic Library (Firm), & Great Lakes Commission. (2012). Restoring the natural divide: Separating the Great Lakes and Mississippi River basins in the Chicago area waterway system. Ann Arbor, MI: Great Lakes Commission.
Escobar, L. E., Mallez, S., McCartney, M., Lee, C., Zielinski, D. P., Ghosal, R., . . . Phelps, N. B. D. (2018). Aquatic invasive species in the Great Lakes region: An overview. Reviews in Fisheries Science & Aquaculture, 26(1), 121-138. doi:10.1080/23308249.2017.1363715
Great Lakes Sea Grant Network. (2017). Education and outreach on Asian carp: In support of the Asian Carp Regional Coordinating Committee. Retrieved from https://greatlakesseagrant.files.wordpress.com/2016/10/glsgn-asian-carp-report.pdf
Higgs, E. (2017). Novel and designed ecosystems. Restoration Ecology, 25(1), 8-13. doi:10.1111/rec.12410
Hobbs, R. J., Higgs, E., Hall, C. M., Bridgewater, P., Chapin, F. S., Ellis, E. C., . . . Yung, L. (2014). Managing the whole landscape: Historical, hybrid, and novel ecosystems. Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment, 12(10), 557-564. doi:10.1890/130300
Illinois State Museum. (2000). The Illinois History: The Illinois Decline. Retrieved from http://www.museum.state.il.us/muslink/nat_amer/post/htmls/hi_decline.html
Irons, K. S., Sass, G. G., McClelland, M. A., & Stafford, J. D. (2007). Reduced condition factor of two native fish species coincident with invasion of non‐native Asian carps in the Illinois River, U.S.A. is this evidence for competition and reduced fitness? Journal of Fish Biology, 71(sd), 258-273. doi:10.1111/j.1095-8649.2007.01670.x
Schwieterman, J. P. (2015). Environmental reviews and case studies: Stopping the Asian carp and other nuisance species: Cost projections for separating the Great Lakes and Mississippi River basins using U.S. Army Corps of Engineers inputs. Environmental Practice, 17(4), 291-301. doi:10.1017/S1466046615000320
Tsehaye, I., Catalano, M., Sass, G., Glover, D., & Roth, B. (2013). Prospects for Fishery‐Induced collapse of invasive Asian carp in the Illinois River. Fisheries, 38(10), 445-454. doi:10.1080/03632415.2013.836501
United States Environmental Protection Agency. (N.d.) Chicago Area Waterway System/Chicago River. Retrieved from https://www.epa.gov/il/chicago-area-waterway-system-chicago-river
Wohl, E. E. (2013). Wide rivers crossed: The South Platte and the Illinois of the American prairie. Boulder: University Press of Colorado