Invasive species may vary in their seasonal distribution and abundance due to environmental conditions such as precipitation and temperature. Bigheaded carps, which include silver and bighead carp, are one such taxon of invasive species that appear to change habitats seasonally. Seasonal changes in bigheaded carp distribution may occur because of hydrological changes, water temperature changes, and spawning activities. Monitoring this seasonal dispersal and migration is important for management to control the population size and spread of the species. We examined if environmental DNA (eDNA) approaches could detect seasonal changes in the occurrence of DNA in water samples and used these approaches to calculate the probability of detection of DNA within samples. To do this, we developed a novel genetic marker that was able to both detect and differentiate bighead and silver carp DNA. We implemented the genetic markers to study the occurrence of bigheaded carps at 3 sites on the Wabash River over the course of a year. These sites were chosen because they exist along a spatial gradient of bigheaded carps densities. Furthermore, we studied the Wabash River because of concerns that carps may be able to use the system to invade the Great Lakes via a connection at Eagle Marsh between the Wabash River's watershed and the Great Lakes' watershed. The Wabash River is a tributary of the Ohio River, which is a tributary of the Mississippi River and the source of bigheaded carps in the Wabash. We used occupancy modeling to estimate both the probability that a water sample contained DNA as well as the probability of detecting the DNA within a sample for both species. We found seasonal trends in the probability of detection and occupancy that varied across sites. These findings demonstrate that eDNA methods can detect seasonal changes in bigheaded carps densities and suggest the amount of DNA present changes seasonally. Both the probability of detection and the probability of a sample containing DNA were generally similar for both species. The site that was farthest upstream and had the lowest carp densities exhibited the strongest seasonal trends for both detection probabilities and sample occupancy probabilities. Furthermore, other observations suggest that carps seasonally leave this site, and we were able to detect this with our eDNA approach. More broadly, our research offers support for using eDNA to detect seasonal trends in abundances of aquatic invasive species.

The invasive carp environmental DNA (eDNA) sample data was collected and processed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) and is used for the early detection and monitoring of invasive carp. The reportable eDNA detection summary data along with static maps are shared with the public along with a public facing ArcGIS Online Feature layer, Web Map, and Dashboard. For further information on data collection and processing please refer to the Quality Assurance Project Plan eDNA Monitoring of Bighead and Silver Carps (see files and links). Additional information on the Invasive carp eDNA program for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service can be found on the Whitney Genetics Lab Facility web page (see files and links). A positive eDNA detection result means there was invasive carp eDNA in the water body, which can be from live or dead fish, but it could have also been transported via boat, bird, or water current. A positive eDNA detection does not necessarily mean there were invasive carp present at the time samples were taken. For more information or questions, please contact the eDNA Program Coordinator, Nick Frohnauer at (nicholas_frohnauer@fws.gov). Complete ISO 19115 FGDC metadata can be found under the hosted view feature layer on the FWS AGOL platform.

The invasive carp environmental DNA (eDNA) sample data was collected and processed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) and is used for the early detection and monitoring of invasive carp. The reportable eDNA detection summary data along with static maps are shared with the public along with a public facing ArcGIS Online Feature layer, Web Map, and Dashboard. For further information on data collection and processing please refer to the Quality Assurance Project Plan eDNA Monitoring of Bighead and Silver Carps (see files and links). Additional information on the Invasive carp eDNA program for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service can be found on the Whitney Genetics Lab Facility web page (see files and links). A positive eDNA detection result means there was invasive carp eDNA in the water body, which can be from live or dead fish, but it could have also been transported via boat, bird, or water current. A positive eDNA detection does not necessarily mean there were invasive carp present at the time samples were taken. For more information or questions, please contact the eDNA Program Coordinator, Nick Frohnauer at (nicholas_frohnauer@fws.gov). Complete ISO 19115 FGDC metadata can be found under the hosted view feature layer on the FWS AGOL platform.

The invasive carp environmental DNA (eDNA) sample data was collected and processed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) and is used for the early detection and monitoring of invasive carp. The reportable eDNA detection summary data along with static maps are shared with the public along with a public facing ArcGIS Online Feature layer, Web Map, and Dashboard. For further information on data collection and processing please refer to the Quality Assurance Project Plan eDNA Monitoring of Bighead and Silver Carps (see files and links). Additional information on the Invasive carp eDNA program for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service can be found on the Whitney Genetics Lab Facility web page (see files and links). A positive eDNA detection result means there was invasive carp eDNA in the water body, which can be from live or dead fish, but it could have also been transported via boat, bird, or water current. A positive eDNA detection does not necessarily mean there were invasive carp present at the time samples were taken. For more information or questions, please contact the eDNA Program Coordinator, Nick Frohnauer at (nicholas_frohnauer@fws.gov). Complete ISO 19115 FGDC metadata can be found under the hosted view feature layer on the FWS AGOL platform.

Acoustic telemetry data (Vemco, Inc) were collected on invasive silver carp (Hypophthalmichthys molitrix), bighead carp (H. nobilis) and their hybrids in the upper Mississippi River (navigation pools 15-19) to determine movement patterns and preferred habitats during September 2013 through November 2017. We consolidated these data into intervals of fish within-pool residency and intervals of fish transitions into adjacent navigation pools (i.e., dam passages). The combined data set was then parsed into an "upstream passage" data set (in which downstream passage intervals were censored) and and a "downstream passage" data set (in which upstream passage intervals were censored). We then examined the effects of river hydrology and water temperature on dam passages by bigheaded carps using a complementary log-log model for continuous-time processes to estimate a Cox proportional hazards regression model (Allison 2010).

Acoustic telemetry data (Vemco, Inc) were collected on invasive silver carp (Hypophthalmichthys molitrix), bighead carp (H. nobilis) and their hybrids in the upper Mississippi River (navigation pools 15-19) to determine movement patterns and preferred habitats during September 2013 through November 2017. We consolidated these data into intervals of fish within-pool residency and intervals of fish transitions into adjacent navigation pools (i.e., dam passages). The combined data set was then parsed into an "upstream passage" data set (in which downstream passage intervals were censored) and and a "downstream passage" data set (in which upstream passage intervals were censored). We then examined the effects of river hydrology and water temperature on dam passages by bigheaded carps using a complementary log-log model for continuous-time processes to estimate a Cox proportional hazards regression model (Allison 2010).

An eDNA-based sampling approach used by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for bigheaded carp Hypophthalmichthys spp. in the upper Mississippi River and Great Lakes Basins that collects hundreds of water samples per event. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service detected a single positive sample for bighead carp _H. nobilis_ during the spring 2021 sampling event in the Kinnickinnic River within the Milwaukee River Basin, and detected a second single positive sample for bigheaded carp during the fall 2021 sampling event in the Milwaukee River. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service did not detect any bigheaded carp or bighead carp in previous years (2015 to 2020) or in either the spring or fall 2022 sampling events. These detections lacked perspective such as detection numbers for other species. We reanalyzed the 2021 and 2022 samples for four existing species of fish: two fairly common species (common carp Cyprinus carpio and gizzard shad Dorosoma cepedianum) and two fairly rare species (burbot Lota lota and grass carp Ctenopharyngodon idella). This dataset contains the eDNA-base detection and nondetection data from the 2021 and 2022 sampling events.

This data was collected by the US Fish and Wildlife Service to see if environmental DNA (eDNA) varied across pools and within pools in the Illinois River basin. The data was collected in 2015 from three different habitat types: shoreline, main channel, and bays. The resulting data were then analyzed using an occupancy model.

This data was collected by the US Fish and Wildlife Service to see if environmental DNA (eDNA) varied across pools and within pools in the Illinois River basin. The data was collected in 2015 from three different habitat types: shoreline, main channel, and bays. The resulting data were then analyzed using an occupancy model.

In the Lamine, Moreau, and Little Chariton rivers, light traps were used to capture larval bigheaded carps moving into tributaries. Traps were set on a weekly basis in each river, at roughly 1-kilometer intervals up to 7 km upstream. Ichthyoplankton tows were done in locations near the confluence of each tributary with the Missouri River, and within the Missouri River itself. Data includes identification of larval fish, size, and developmental information of subsampled invasive carp species. Flow readings were taken at up to five points across the channel with a Marsh-McBirney flow meter, and water quality was measured at the surface with a YSI ProPlus before retrieval of light traps.