eDNA Monitoring Results
eDNA (environmental DNA) is a genetic surveillance tool. It is an important early warning tool when considering potential response actions. eDNA evidence complements intensive use of traditional monitoring and suppression tools. A positive eDNA sample indicates the presence of Asian carp DNA and the possible presence of live fish. At present, eDNA evidence cannot verify whether live Asian carp are present, whether the DNA may have come from a dead fish, the number of Asian carp in an area, or whether water containing Asian carp DNA may have been transported from other sources. The Environmental DNA (eDNA) Independent External Peer Review (IEPR) confirmed eDNA sampling and testing methodology is sound for detecting silver and bighead carp DNA but cannot indicate the source of Asian carp DNA.
USACE began using eDNA in cooperation with the University of Notre Dame (UND) in August 2009. UND collected and analyzed samples for the presence of bighead and silver carp DNA throughout the Chicago Area Waterway System (CAWS) from the Dresden Island pool to the Wilmette Pump Station, Chicago Harbor and Calumet Harbor until June 2010. During this time, DNA of both bighead carp and silver carp was discovered, both below and above the electric barriers located in Romeoville, Illinois. 2011 eDNA Results to Date.
The Quality Assurance Project Plan (QAPP) for the Environmental DNA (eDNA) Monitoring of Invasive Asian Carp in the Chicago Area Waterway System (CAWS) outlines the detailed procedures for the planning, collection, filtering, processing and reporting of eDNA samples and will be refined periodically. This document, which has undergone a technical review by scientists at Argonne University, is the result of collaboration between USACE biologists and geneticists and builds upon the initial protocols developed by researchers at the University of Notre Dame.
31 January 2012 - eDNA Snapshot Results
ACRCC Monitoring Workgroup eDNA Snapshot
The Monitoring and Rapid Response Workgroup (MRRWG) conducted an environmental DNA (eDNA) sampling event at the end of October 2011, called the “eDNA Snapshot”, to obtain a comprehensive system-wide view of Asian carp DNA distribution in the Chicago Area Waterway System (CAWS) at one time.
The MRRWG will use the Snapshot results to inform the monitoring and sampling plan for 2012. The MRRWG will be initiating eDNA testing and intensive monitoring in early May and conventional gear sampling resuming in March.
Using eDNA as a monitoring and surveillance tool in the CAWS is still being refined. USACE is leading an interagency eDNA Calibration Study (ECALS) with the U.S. Geological Survey and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to reduce the uncertainty surrounding eDNA results. ECALS will:
• investigate potential alternative viable sources and pathways for DNA (other than a live fish,
• develop more efficient markers, decreasing the processing time for eDNA samples,
• determine the relationship between the number and distribution of positive eDNA samples with the number of Asian carp in the system,
• determine the effect of environmental variables (light, temperature, water velocity) on the persistence and degradation of DNA in water and
• model eDNA transport in the CAWS.
During the eDNA Snapshot, monitoring agencies (USFWS and USACE) sampled the weekly monitoring stations, (North Shore Channel, Chicago Lock, Little Calumet River, Lake Calumet) as well as three additional sites (Lockport Pool above barrier, Cal-Sag Channel and the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal (CSSC) above the confluence), collecting 720 samples from seven sites over three days. Due to the magnitude of this sampling event, the processing of the samples were completed and reported to the MRRWG winter 2012.
The difference between the number of samples collected (720) and the number of samples processed (684) is to account for "cooler blanks", a quality assurance/control measure taken to ensure no contamination is occurring within the storage cooler of field samples. For example, each sampling batch of 120 samples will have six blanks, so the total number of actual samples collected and processed from the river is 114. Full details on the collection process and procedure can be found in the QAPP.
The Snapshot results indicate that, over a short period of time, silver carp DNA was distributed at several locations throughout the CAWS, but was not detected in Lake Calumet or the CSSC above the confluence of the Cal-Sag Channel. Asian carp eDNA has previously been detected at all locations that yielded a positive result in the Snapshot. Consistent with 2011 eDNA results, only silver carp DNA was detected (no bighead carp DNA was detected during this snapshot ).
The snapshot sampling event was not designed to identify the specific sources of DNA in the CAWS. Potential examples of sources include multiple fish (live or dead), input from storm sewer discharge/combined sewer outfalls, fish-eating birds, and recreational/commercial vessels transporting fish or DNA. Additionally, what remains unknown is how the number of positive samples correlates to the strength of the DNA source. For example, 10 of 114 samples returned positive hits for silver carp DNA in the Cal-Sag Channel above the confluence of the CSSC, but at this point in time, the MRRWG is still working to understand the relationship between the number of hits and the DNA source (fish or other source).
The current Monitoring and Rapid Response protocol identifies the need for the results from one site to return one or more positive hits in three consecutive sampling trips to trigger a response action. The MRRWG puts more value on the repetition of positive hits at a site than the number of positive hits returned during one monitoring event. Response actions are triggered by a consistent pattern of DNA over several sampling occasions, indicating a potential affinity to the site by Asian carp or Asian carp DNA over time, and not in a single instant. The Cal-Sag Channel has not been in the standard rotation of sites sampled for eDNA; therefore, the criteria that invoke a response have not been met, as outlined in the 2011 Monitoring and Rapid Response Plan.
In 2011, the MRRWG spent over 5,000 person-hours monitoring with conventional gears in the CAWS upstream of the Electric Dispersal Barriers in the CSSC. Over 325 hours of electrofishing and 78 miles of contracted commercial netting sampled over 68,000 fish representing more than 60 species. No bighead or silver carp were captured or observed above the barriers during 2011. The MRRWG will continue extensive efforts to achieve the overall goal of preventing Asian carp from establishing self-sustaining populations in the CAWS and Lake Michigan. The MRRWG will maintain vigilance in the entire CAWS with the continuation of eDNA and conventional gear monitoring during 2012, as well as adding new gears, such as large-frame hoop nets and surface-to-bottom gill/trammel nets.
Snapshot results will be considered as the 2012 MRRWG eDNA sampling strategy is developed. All monitoring results inform the adaptive management approach, as discussed in the 2011 Monitoring and Rapid Response Plan, which was released May 2011.
For more information on the Monitoring and Rapid Response Workgroup and to view the 2011 Monitoring and Rapid Response Plan, visit www.asiancarp.us/monitoring.htm.
19 November 2011 -
eDNA Surveillance Status Map
The map below shows results for samples collected on 18 October from Chicago Lock to South Branch Chicago River/Bubbly Creek. There were ONE positive for silver carp; ZERO for bighead carp.
Previous eDNA results from Chicago Lock to Bubbly Creek:
• 10 May 2011: ONE positive for silver carp, ZERO for bighead carp
• 23 June 2011: ZERO for both species
• 17 August: ONE positive for silver carp; ZERO for bighead carp
• 13 September: ZERO for both species
Click to enlarge:
RESULTS MAP ARCHIVES
- October 4, 2011
- September 21, 2011
- September 8, 2011
- September 2, 2011
- August 16, 2011
- August 11, 2011
- July 29, 2011
- July 21, 2011
- July 19, 2011
- July 14, 2011
- June 9, 2011
- June 3, 2011
- January 7, 2011
- UND Asian Carp eDNA Monitoring Results Above Barrier 2009 & 2010
- December 28, 2010
- December 14, 2010
- December 10, 2010
- December 3, 2010
- November 12, 2010
- October 26, 2010 (Des Plaines River)
- June 4, 2010
- May 28,2010
- May 14, 2010
- May 7, 2010
- April 30, 2010
- April 23, 2010
- April 16, 2010
- April 9, 2010
- March 12,2010
- March 5, 2010
- February 26, 2010
- February 11, 2010
- February 5, 2010
- January 29, 2010
- January 12, 2010
For ongoing, detailed Asian carp sampling results, please visit asiancarp.us.
