Midwest Fish & Wildlife Conference 2019

AUTHORS: Samuel Schaick, Eastern Illinois University; Cassi Moody-Carpenter, Eastern Illinois University; Aaron Schrey, Georgia Southern University; Katie Miller, Georgia Southern University; David Wahl, Illinois Natural History Survey; Robert Colombo, Eastern Illinois University

ABSTRACT: Silver Carp are a non-native fish species that have deleterious effects on the ecosystems they invade. Because of their destructive nature, fisheries managers devote substantial time and effort to limit the spread of these fishes. Better understanding patterns of Silver Carp reproduction and dispersal can help to better manage this invader. To determine spawning locations, we used drift nets and larval push nets in three tributaries the Wabash River to capture larval Hypophthalmichthys (Silver and Bighead Carp) in 2016 and 2017. Further, we used microsatellite loci to determine if genetic differences existed between larval Hypophthalmichthys in our three study tributaries. In total, 1,246 Hypophthalmichthys were collected from three tributaries, with the Little Wabash River and Embarras River producing roughly 83% and 16% of larvae. Having large enough sample sizes at two sites on the Little Wabash River and one site on the Embarras River, we performed genetic analyses and found all three sites had high levels of genetic diversity. Additionally, we found minimal inbreeding or outbreeding present. The middle Little Wabash and lower Embarras River samples were found to be genetically different. We expect this research to improve our understanding of Asian carp reproduction and help fisheries professionals to better mediate their spread.

AUTHORS: Megan Niner, University of Toledo; Dr. Carol Stepien, NOAA Pacific Marine Environmental Lab; Dr. Doug Leaman, Wright State University

ABSTRACT: The viral hemorrhagic septicemia virus (VHSv) is a fish virus responsible for occasional fish kills in the Laurentian Great Lakes in the last fifteen years. Substrain IVb is a recently emerged pathogen with an unusually large host range of over 30 species of fish, both of native and non-native status. With new outbreaks once again occurring, more insight into the evolutionary trends of this fish pathogen could help predict future trends. This study provides a unique examination of a wildlife pathogen in a natural setting. We sequenced the full genome of multiple VHSv-IVb isolates collected in the fifteen years following its emergence to examine evolutionary trends. For these 30 isolates, we compare and contrast differences in nucleotides, amino acids, mutation sites, and the number of transvisions and transversions to elucidate possible patterns across time. To understand how observed changes in sequences may affect the course of infection, further testing of three selected full genomes from Lake Erie were used in a variety of cell culture studies. Our selected isolates were haplotypes “v” (H31, round goby, 2015), “w” (B09, gizzard shad, 2016), and “w4” (G61, smallmouth bass, 2016). Cell experiments included testing for differences in pathogenicity from the original isolate haplotype “a” (MI03GL, 2003), examining cytopathogenicity, virus production, and immune response stimulation. All three new isolates appeared to behave similarly to “a” despite being recovered more than a decade later.

AUTHORS: Erin O'Shaughnessey, Rachel Egly, Reuben Keller – Loyola University Chicago

ABSTRACT: Crayfish are the largest freshwater invertebrate and pose a serious threat to the ecosystems in which they invade. They have been shown to decrease macroinvertebrate density and diversity, displace native crayfish, and alter fish communities. We have identified a reproducing population of red swamp crayfish (Procambarusclarkii)in the Chicago Area Waterways System (CAWS). This species has been introduced in Lake Erie, small ponds in Wisconsin, and streams in Michigan, as well as in Africa, Asia, and Europe. Due to the proximity of the CAWS to Lake Michigan and undisturbed streams with native crayfish populations, P. clarkii is potentially able to spread into more areas. During summer 2018, we began a removal effort ofP. clarkii in the North Branch of the Chicago River and in the North Shore Channel. Additionally, we tested for the optimal number of nights for traps to be left in the water to achieve the highest catch rate and used mark and recapture methods to attempt to test the distance that crayfish travel in this system. In the North Branch of the Chicago River, we have recaptured 51 crayfish, traveling an average distance of 2.53 meters per night. In the North Shore Channel, we have recaptured 11 crayfish, traveling an average distance of 6.41 meters per night. Previous sampling indicated that the average CPUE (catch per unit effort) in this system was 0.843. The current CPUE of P. clarkii in our removal study area is 0.453. 

AUTHORS: Jason E. Ross, Mike Seider, Jared Myers – U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

ABSTRACT: Traditional Aquatic Invasive Species (AIS) monitoring and early detection programs in the Great Lakes target fish use multiple gears to maximize the number of species captured.  The measures of success has been measured by the proportion of the total expected species pool captured in a given period.  This same approach has been applied to aquatic macroinvertebrates, but the measures of success have not been reaching the same expectations as fish.  Aquatic macroinvertebrates are smaller, more numerous, less mobile, and far less studied than fish and, therefore, should not have the same expectations.  In this study, we evaluated our samples collected from 2014 to 2016 by taxonomic groups and gear types to determine whether sample designs were capturing taxonomic groups containing species at risk of invading Lake Superior (amphipods, bivalves, gastropods, and mysids).  We found that our gears (sweep nets, petite ponar, Hester-Dendy, Zebra Mussel Samplers) were not capturing taxonomic groups of interest with much success.  Missing taxon groups of interest in collections can greatly change accumulation curves and deprecate the success of a program.  During 2017, we added rock bags to target amphipods; Neuston nets, vertical plankton tows, and sweep nets at night to target mysids; and did not scrape the Hester-Dendy and Zebra Mussel Samplers to allow bivalves to mature for identification.  The modifications allowed us to capture two additional species of amphipods, successfully identified Zebra Mussels on samplers, and discovered Bloody Red Shrimp in the St. Louis River Estuary.  By changing the focus of the aquatic macroinvertebrates monitoring from “finding all of the species” to “targeting taxon of interest”, the measures of successes have changed to reasonable expectations while improving the monitoring of invasive species.

AUTHORS: Jeremy S. Tiemann, Illinois Natural History Survey; Philip W. Willink, Field Museum; Tristan A. Widloe, Victor J. Santucci, Jr., Daniel Makauskas – Illinois Department of Natural Resources; Samantha D. Hertel, Loyola University Chicago; James T. Lamer, Western Illinois University; Joshua L. Sherwood, Illinois Natural History Survey

ABSTRACT: The distribution of the Illinois state-threatened Banded Killifish Fundulus diaphanus remained largely unchanged in Illinois from 1880 to 2000, being restricted mainly to the northeastern corner of the state. One population has remained stable in the glacial lakes region along the southeastern Wisconsin – northeastern Illinois border. Individuals from this population are identified as the Western Banded Killifish F. d. menona. Starting in 2001, a second population began to spread and become more common along the Lake Michigan shoreline. From there, they expanded through the Chicago Area Waterway System, into the lower Des Plaines River, and eventually into the Illinois River. Historical museum specimens from this area are identified as the Western subspecies, but recent specimens are identified as hybrids between the Western subspecies and the non-native Eastern subspecies F. d. diaphanus. A third population appeared in the Mississippi River near the mouth of the Rock River in 2009, and has spread from there, including downstream to the St. Louis area. These individuals are identified as the Western subspecies. The rapid expansion of Banded Killifish from Lake Michigan into the Illinois River appears to be an invasion of the Eastern subspecies and the subsequent hybridization with the native Western subspecies. It is unknown where the Banded Killifish in the Mississippi River came from, but they might have originated from populations 160+ kilometers upstream or through human introductions. As the Illinois River and Mississippi River populations continue to expand their ranges, their ecological impacts are unknown at this time. Future work includes a genetic analysis to help determine how the non-native Eastern subspecies invaded the Midwest from the Atlantic Slope.