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Person

Benjamin H Stahlschmidt

Fishery Biologist
Email: bstahlschmidt@usgs.gov
Office Phone: 573-875-5399
ORCID: 0000-0001-6197-662X

Location
4200 New Haven Road
Columbia , MO 65201
US
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Data collected from a comprehensive set of hydrodynamic experiments conducted with live grass carp eggs and larvae, to evaluate drifting and swimming patterns with 3 different in-stream obstructions: (1) a gravel bump, (2) a single cylinder, and (3) submerged vegetation. The hydrodynamic behavior of eggs and larvae with each obstruction was continuously monitored for about 85 consecutive hours. Transient spatial distributions of the locations of eggs and larvae across the water column were generated for each flow scenario.
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Sensory input and systems are critical for organisms to respond to their environment, allowing movement to suitable habitat and potential escape from predators. While many stages of grass carp ontogeny have been described, neurosensory development remains unclear. Using behavioral tests, we looked at phonotaxis and chemotaxis from initial gas bladder inflation to the development of the second gas bladder chamber (the period during which larvae leave the drift and move into nursery areas). Rheotaxis was examined from hatch through gas bladder inflation by quantifying orientation in a laboratory flume.
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A series of laboratory experiments were conducted to better understand the behavior of grass carp eggs and larvae in moving water in order to develop and implement new strategies for control and prediction of their dispersal and drift at early life stages. Settling velocity and density of a representative sample of eggs were estimated, and three trials of flume experiments with different flow conditions were conducted with live eggs in a temperature-controlled setting with a mobile sediment bed. In these trials, egg and larval stages were continuously analyzed over periods of 80 hours; and eggs and larvae interactions with the flow and sediment bed were monitored and characterized qualitatively and quantitatively....
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We tested salinity tolerance of grass carp and silver carp eggs and larvae during two phases of development – pre-gas bladder inflation and post gas bladder inflation to the development of the second gas bladder chamber, using 6 different salinity concentrations ranging from 0 to 36 ppt. Growth and developmental rates were also observed after exposure. After the initiation of horizontal swimming, grass carp larvae were tested in a Y-maze to assess any preferences for salinity levels.
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A piscicide delivery method was designed to selectively target black carp Mylopharyngodon piceus, an invasive species in North America which possesses specially adapted pharyngeal teeth for crushing mollusk prey. Bait was prepared by attaching a glass vial containing toxicant (antimycin A) to the exterior of Corbicula fluminea clam valve. The vial was designed to break by the force exerted from the fish’s (550 millimeter total length) pharyngeal teeth when the fish attempted to crush and consume the clam. Suitable vial size was tested for encapsulating piscicide and two attachment materials, aquarium epoxy and ultraviolet light (UV) cured attachment material. Toxic baits consisting of antimycin A piscicide were...
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