Description of Work Water guns are being placed in backwater habitats where bighead carp and silver carp currently are to see if they can be used to deny fish access to these preferred off-channel habitats or trap them in areas where they can be captured and removed. The energy emitted from water guns is being measured to determine the risk associated with water gun operation near navigation structures. These research topics are being investigated under laboratory (USGS Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences Center, La Crosse, WI) and field conditions (for example, a backwater area of the Illinois River near Morris, IL). Relevance & Impact If water guns alter the behavior of bighead carp or silver carp then they could be deployed to [...]
