Experimental Evidence from Causal Criteria Analysis for the Effects of Common Carp Cyprinus carpio on Freshwater Ecosystems: A Global Perspective

Abstract

As the most widely distributed freshwater fish worldwide, common carp Cyprinus carpio can be either invasive or “naturalized” in most areas of introduction. This leads to different levels of perception regarding the species' role in freshwater ecosystems, with experimental research focusing either on its “middle-out” impacts or overall function in limnological processes. At the same time, the large scales at which carp dynamics operate may severely limit the validity of laboratory and, oftentimes, field experiments in extrapolating results to real-world ecosystems. In this study, 129 laboratory, field, and “natural” experiments were systematically reviewed through causal criteria analysis, and within an historical/biogeographical and risk-assessment context. Of the 19 countries where experiments were conducted, only 4 were considered as “low risk” and one as “no risk,” the other being “medium” to “high risk.” Experimental findings from 373 component-wise assessments supported the framework of effects on water quality, vegetation, invertebrates, and vertebrates, with the latter including also amphibians and waterfowl, previously unreported. Stronger evidence was provided by natural and field relative to laboratory experiments, reflecting the reductionism of the latter. Critical biomass for an impact was highly dependent on experimental setup, even though the overall threshold of ≈200 kg ha⁻¹ under natural conditions supported recent findings. Management of carp should reflect the level of current and potential risk posed by the species in its different areas of distribution, thereby accounting for projections of further spread but also for unsuccessful colonization. Future experimentation should favor a holistic→reductionist over a reductionist→holistic approach.

Keywords:

• Field
• Laboratory
• Natural
• Enclosure/exclosure
• Biomass

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The authors wish to thank L. Zambrano (Instituto de Biología, UNAM, Mexico) for advice on critical carp biomass computation, A. Webb (Department of Infrastructure Engineering, University of Melbourne) for support on the use of the Eco Evidence software, L. Thwaites (SARDI Aquatic Sciences) for feedback and support on an early ms draft and M.G. Fox (Trent University, Canada) for providing some key references. Participation by G.H. Copp was thanks to support from the UK Department of Environment, Food, and Rural Affairs.

Funding

This work was supported by Project MD756 Integrated Pest Management funded by the Murray-Darling Basin Authority (MDBA, Canberra, Australia) to the South Australian Research and Development Institute (SARDI, Adelaide, Australia), with continued support to L. Vilizzi by a 2221 – Fellowship Program for Visiting Scientists on Sabbatical Leave, provided by The Scientific & Technological Research Council of Turkey (TÜBİTAK) and The Department of Science Fellowships & Grant Programs (BİDEB).