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Click here to go back Details of this species in Lake Utah Status: Alien Invasiveness: Invasive Occurrence: Established Source: Miller & Crowl 2006 Arrival Date: 1888 (Miller & Provenza 2007) Introduction: Species Notes for this Location: Common carp (C. carpio) were introduced to Utah Lake (Utah, USA) in 1888 (Miller & Provenza 2007) and are considered to be invasive in the lake. The current carp population of Utah Lake is estimated to be >100 million, with higher densities closer to the shoreline (R. Valdez, pers. comm., in Miller & Crowl 2006). Management Notes for this Location: Research by Miller and Provenza 2007 was aimed was to understanding the mechanism of resistance of macrophytes to the common carp and thereby to offer managers a suitable suite of plants to be used in restoring the habitats of Utah Lake and other areas with invasive carp. Location Notes: Impacts: Habitat alteration: Macrophytes provide essential structural refugia for larval fish and invertebrates (Hutchinson 1975, Lodge 1991, Newman 1991, Persson & Crowder 1998, in Miller & Provenza 2007). Loss of macrophyte refuges is the main source of mortality for larval and juvenile endangered june suckers (Chasmistes liorus, a remnant species from the late Pleistocene (Crowl Thomas & Vinson 1998, in Miller & Provenza 2007). Due to predation by non-native species, habitat degradation, and the lack of structural habitat to serve as refuge, long-term recovery of the june sucker in Utah Lake is not likely unless managers can re-vegetate the lake with macrophytes resistant to carp (Miller & Provenza 2007). Reduction in native biodiversity: Common carp have caused considerable damage to the macrophytes and endemic fishes of this freshwater ecosystem (Heckman Thompson & White 1981, in Miller & Provenza 2007). Vegetation maps from the mid-1800s, prior to carp introduction, show the lake covered with extensive macrophyte communities (National Archives Microfilm Publications 1850-1902, Brotherson, 1981, in Miller & Provenza 2007). Today these communities are virtually nonexistent, and only three macrophytes remain in Utah Lake (Stuckenia pectinata, Typha latifolia and Scirpus validus (Miller & Provenza 2007). Ceratophyllum demersum has been extirpated entirely and Chara aspera occurs only in tributaries running into the lake (Miller & Provenza 2007). Last Modified: 10/12/2009 3:48:33 p.m.