USING ACOUSTIC TELEMETRY TO ANALYZE THE IMPACTS OF COMMON CARP ON WILD RICE RESTORATION

<p>Wild rice (<em>Zizania palustris</em>) is an important cultural, spiritual, and dietary resource to Lake Superior Ojibwe. Common Carp (<em>Cyprinus carpio</em>) are an introduced species that negatively impact aquatic vegetation through changes in water quality, uprooting of plants, and consumption of seed. Acoustic telemetry was used to document Common Carp movements in Waishkey Bay in the upper St. Marys River, MI where wild rice habitat is present. Exclosures were established to measure the influence of carp presence on wild rice seeding success. Common Carp were observed to spend much of their time in Waishkey Bay but also demonstrated long-distance movements at a scale which has not been previously documented. Site fidelity to the bay was strong with most carp returning to the bay during fall. The time spent in Waishkey Bay by Common Carp strongly overlapped with wild rice habitat, especially during early summer when wild rice was the most susceptible to disturbance. However, strong overlap in wild rice habitat by Common Carp did not result in observable impacts on wild rice seeding success. Wild rice grew at all sites, whether protected or unprotected from Common Carp, a result potentially related to current low carp densities in Waishkey Bay. These results show promise for the success of wild rice restoration efforts in Waishkey Bay but should target areas where Common Carp spawning aggregations do not occur. These activities should be combined with monitoring of the Common Carp population to detect rises in carp density that could affect wild rice.</p>

Name thesis:degree_name

Master of Science

Level thesis:degree_level

Thesis

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Biology

Year dc:date.available

2021

Author dc:creator

• Zomer, Franklin

Contributors dc:contributor

• Dr. Brandon Gerig

• wild rice
• common carp
• acoustic telemetry
• detection probability
• detection range
• exclosure
• home range
• spawning
• St Marys River
• Great Lakes
• Aquaculture and Fisheries
• Biology
• Terrestrial and Aquatic Ecology

Repository record dc:identifier

https://commons.nmu.edu/theses/668

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:commons.nmu.edu:theses-1691