Download Annotated Literature Review

NR 1114
Annotated Literature Review
Alexander R. Pelletier
October 1, 2012
Annotated Literature Review
1.) Problem Statement:
Silver Carp, otherwise known as Asian Carp, are an exotic invasive species in the United
States. Specifically, I will be focusing on the Mississippi River System (abbreviated by the
American Fisheries Society as MRS, for clarification). I will be looking at how to responsibly
and effectively reduce the population of Silver Carp in this river system, starting with how these
fish got here in the first place and how they flourished. I will then talk about specific ways to
control their population size and why some methods would and wouldn’t work. This will also
delve into a bit of ethical background as to what is right and wrong with reducing a population of
living organisms. Full Problem Statement here:
Controlling the Invasive Asian Silver Carp
in the Mississippi River System
The Asian Silver Carp is an invasive species to the Mississippi River system. As the
name implies, it was imported over here and somehow made its way into the river system, and
now has taken over. There are multiple ways that this fish may have got into the river, and that is
probably where the research will start. They could have been introduced accidentally or
intentionally, by someone who had one as an exotic pet and released it or someone who released
them into the river on purpose to solve another problem (maybe an overgrowth of an invasive
grass or plant species), or to enhance fishing either for recreational and commercial purposes.
The fish are vegetarian, so they do not eat other fish, but they still multiply very fast and eat most
of the vegetation in the river. This minimizes the photosynthetic yield of the river system and
starves other fish species that are vegetarian. Large fish that eat those small fish are then in
danger, and the cycle continues. This problem is both economically and ecologically important
because it pertains to both the river system’s ecology and the recreation and/or commercial
values of those in the Midwest and the Mississippi River area. They are even a hazard to
motorized recreation. If you’ve ever seen videos where a motorized boat is driving down a river,
and all of a sudden the river erupts into a boil of fish jumping frantically out of the river in every
direction, often jumping straight into the boat and sometimes injuring passengers, then you know
the fish that I am referring to. I plan to come up with a solution that allows for an ecosystem with
stable, evenly-balanced trophic levels in the river and reduce the threat to the commercial and
recreational business as well.
2.) Axiom of Sustainability:
The invasion of the exotic Silver Carp species deals primarily with the axiom of
sustainability that says, “population growth and/or growth in the rates of consumption can’t be
sustained.” Essentially this means that a population, in this case Silver Carp, will hit a carrying
capacity in the face of limited resources such as food, habitat, oxygen, etc. This makes sense
because if a species consumes more than is produced, it must run out at some point, in which
case the fish that need the resource in question would die. The other axiom that this pertains to,
and maybe not as much, but is still worth addressing, is the axiom that says, “sustainability
requires that substances introduced by humans be minimized and rendered harmless.” In this
NR 1114
Annotated Literature Review
Alexander R. Pelletier
October 1, 2012
technical briefing and report outline, there will be discussion and introduction of chemical
methods for reducing and controlling population size of Silver Carp. These chemicals must only
affect the intended species of reduction and must not be detrimental to the health of the MRS as a
whole ecosystem.
3.) Concept Table:
Information Research
Please read: http://info-skills.lib.vt.edu/
Alexander R. Pelletier
October 1, 2012
1. Choose a research idea. Refine it into a clear, one sentence statement of what you will be
investigating. Write a list of questions that you need your research to answer.
a. Focused Research statement (thesis/topic statement, research question):
How can we reduce and control populations of invasive exotic Silver Carp in the
Mississippi River in a fashion that is not detrimental to other species of the
community/ecosystem or the abiotic environmental factors?
b. Research Questions: How did these nonnative carp get here?
What weaknesses do these fish have / how are they
susceptible?
What attempts are currently being made or have been made
in the past to control these fish?
What attempts were successful / not successful?
What are the effects of chemical methods on target and
unintended species?
What, of all possible answers, is the most ethical?
What might it cost?
2. Identify the essential concepts (ideas) in your research statement and complete the Concept
Table below. Enter your essential concepts (nouns) in the Concept Categories cells – the
most important concept is the Primary one. Secondary concepts modify or tell you
something about the Primary concept. Enter synonyms for each concept in the column below
that concept term.
See Concept Table 
NR 1114
Annotated Literature Review
Alexander R. Pelletier
October 1, 2012
Concept Table
Primary
Concept
Silver Carp
Concept
Categories
1 Ecological
2 Biological
3 Economic
4 Ethical
Food chain
effects
Morphological
Cost – Effective
Solutions
Foraging habits /
effects on
vegetation
Specific
Where do we
draw the line
between right
and wrong, safe
and dangerous?
Mgmt.
Asian Carp
Synonyms
Secondary Concepts
Often confused
or associated
with Bighead
Carp
needs
Chemical
effects on
Silver Carp
Predation?
Possible Impact
on Commercial /
Recreational
Fishing?
Compromises –
Often times, no
one solution is
correct
Reproductive
rate?
3. List the indexes, databases, and other access tools appropriate for the topic that you intend to
investigate
Fish, Fisheries, & Aquatic Biodiversity Worldwide – Database
Wildlife & Ecology Studies Worldwide – Database
Environment Complete - Database
North American Journal of Fisheries Management – Journal
Journal of Fish Biology – Journal
Transactions of the American Fisheries Society – Journal
NR 1114
Annotated Literature Review
Alexander R. Pelletier
October 1, 2012
Fisheries Management & Ecology – Journal
Fisheries Science – Journal
4. Using terms from the concept table above, write at least three search statements for your
topic. Use the best term for your primary concept as your first statement. Additional
statements are combinations of a primary term plus a secondary term joined by a boolean
operator. “AND” terms between concept categories, “OR” terms within a concept
category.
Search statements and terms used will vary between access tools. You may
need to write several versions of each statement. Write enough statements to cover all of the
information you need to find.
a. First Search statement:
“Asian Silver Carp” AND Management – 63 Results
b. Second Search statement:
“Asian Silver Carp” AND “Commercial Fishing” OR “Recreational Fishing” –
3517 Results
Try splitting into “A.S.C.” AND “Commercial Fishing”, followed by “A.S.C.”
AND “Recreational Fishing”
c. Third Search statement:
“Asian Carp” AND “Ethics” OR “Morals” – 0 Results
Try “Asian Carp” AND “Population Control” – 1 Result
Try “A.S.C.” AND “Ecology” OR “Ichthyology” OR “Biology”
Based on the results of searches with these statements, write a new set of statements using the
words for your concepts that are used by the access tool/index/online catalog
“Asian Silver Carp” AND Management, followed by anything in which the word “Asian”
is taken out, and simply “Silver Carp” is searched with the Boolean connectors.
4.) Database Searches:
Using your concept table from last week, create at 2 different search strategies to locate
items about your topic, remembering to use () for “Or”-ing synonyms (expand results), and
“AND” to combine concepts (narrow results). Use “” to search for a phrase, and * for truncation
(see the example below):
NR 1114
Annotated Literature Review
Alexander R. Pelletier
October 1, 2012
Example: (wild horse* OR mustang* OR burro*) AND “public grazing lands” AND
management
1. (“Silver Carp” OR “Silver Asian Carp” OR “Asian Carp”) AND “Boat Traffic”.
2. “Silver Asian Carp” AND “Management”
.
Using the subject guides (library website) or course guide (in your NR1114 Scholar Site), list 2
databases that look like they will have information on your topic in the first part of this grid.
Then run your two searches in each of the databases you selected and fill out the remainder of
the grid:
Name of database
Fish, Fisheries, & Aquatic
Biodiversity Worldwide
^ Same ^
# of
search
results
from first
query
0
# of
results
from
second
query
0
Notes on what was returned:
63
5
Defending Great Lakes,
Determining Ploidy, Stock ID,
Introgressive Hybridization,
Pheromones
Well, that stunk…
Make some notes about the types of items that were returned based on your search. Notes can
include information such as too many/too few results, and do the results seem fairly relevant to
what you’re looking for? (If yes, continue on, if not, revisit your concept table and try additional
terms next time.)
-
On topic, presents ideas for causes, dangers, mgmt., and other various fields that may
be worth covering in the report. 63 Sources is not too long but should still provide
plenty of background.
Now compare the results between the two resources you searched:
Was one better than the other in retrieving results based on your search? Second was
much better
Can you think about why this may be?
- Boat Traffic may not be much of an issue yet, contrary to what I expected. Maybe I
will need to refocus my attention.
Was there a lot of overlap in what was returned (e.g. seeing the same resources) between
the two resources, or was there a lot of unique items retrieved in each database?
NR 1114
Annotated Literature Review
-
Alexander R. Pelletier
October 1, 2012
Considering the fact that my first search turned up empty, I’d say the results from the
second result were pretty unique!
Do you think it is helpful to search more than one resource for information on your topic?
Yes
Why/why not?
One source can’t cover all of the necessary perspectives, opinions, facts, and
recommendations that can sum up an entire topic.
Now go back to your concept table and in “#3” add in the database(s) that was/were helpful in
finding relevant information and add any other databases or resources you will search this week
to find additional information for your topic.
-
Wildlife & Ecology Worldwide;
Worldwide
Fish, Fisheries, & Aquatics Biodiversity
In #4, write down the most successful search strategy, and think of other ways to search to find
information based on your topic with the terms from your concept table.
Do not be overly specific in terms, focus on ecology and management and work out of
central idea outwards into other issues, ideas, and solutions. Focus on the above-mentioned
databases.
5.) Annotated Bibliography:
Calfee EE and L. a. R. D. (2006). Use of Pheromones in Management of Asian Carp. Annual
Conference on Great Lakes Research. Library of Congress.
This source is recent enough to be relevant to my topic and pertains to managing the
MRS to prevent further invasion of other systems. Part of controlling populations in the
Mississippi system is keeping it only to the Mississippi system. Techniques used to keep fish
from spreading to other systems are worth investigating to implement to keep fish in the
designated area. Once contained, management is much easier, though still complex. The Annual
Conference on Great Lakes Research is also a very reliable research source.
Conover G., Simmonds R, and Whalen M. (2007). Management and Control Plan for
Bighead, Black, Grass, and Silver Carps in the United States. Asian Carp Working
Group, Aquatic Nuisance Species Task Force, Washington, D.C. 223 pp.
This source documents and outlines management plans and endless amounts of strategies
that were proposed in 2007, which is recent given context. The document focuses specifically on
U.S. carp, so it is very relevant. The list of writers is two pages long single spaced, and all are
associated with various government environmental agencies, so this source should have accurate
information. Specific topics include management strategies, introduction, and biology.
NR 1114
Annotated Literature Review
Alexander R. Pelletier
October 1, 2012
Courtenay WR, J. a. J. R. S., Jr. 1984. Distribution, Biology, and Management of Exotic Fishes.
The Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, MD.
This publication is one from the American Fisheries Society as well, and the two editors
are associated with university fisheries programs. Distribution, management, and biology can all
be useful discussion topics, especially because this publication specifically focuses on exotic
species. Plus, the second editor’s last name is Stauffer, so this source must be credible.
Colonization and the first mention of sport fishing are also present in this text.
Fuller PA, L. G. N., and Williams JD. (1999). Nonindigenous Fishes Introduced into Inland
Waters of the United States.in U. S. F. a. W. Service.
This source is written by at least one author (Leo G. Nico) whose name I have seen on
other fisheries publications. It is an American Fisheries Society publication, so the information is
most likely accurate. This source contains the widest variety of different types of information,
ranging from introduction to morphology to distribution and more. The book also contains
information on carp populations outside of the MRS in case I need to use other geographic
regions as examples.
Hoff, D. C. C. a. M. H. (2011). Invasive Asian Carps in North America. Bethesda, MD.
This source is one of the most recent sources that I found. The topic material is also the
most specific, covering possible dispersal and introduces electrical devices into the conversation,
which can be used in the ethical part of the technical briefing.
Nelson I. and J. W. a. J. S. (1991). Cyprinid Fishes: Systematics, Biology and Exploitation. Fish
and Fisheries.
This source is not as recent as most of the others, but is written by a recognized fisheries
journal and is very specific to the fish in question, while other sources often include unnecessary
information on bighead or grass or black carp. The most important aspects of this source will be
the biogeographical introduction and a morphological outline.
Nico L. (2012). Hypophthalmichthys molitrix. USGS Nonindigenous Aquatic Species Database,
Gainesville, FL. http://nas.er.usgs.gov/queries/factsheet.aspx?speciesID=549
This source is published by the US Geological Survey, which makes it probably accurate.
This source outlines general biological properties of the carp species specifically, along with a
useful map of distribution and current (2012) status on management. It also provides extra
information on the introduction of this exotic species that will be useful to know in order to
prevent any further species coming over from Asia.
NR 1114
Annotated Literature Review
Alexander R. Pelletier
October 1, 2012
Ondrˇ Ej Adamovsky´ , R. K., Kla´ ra HILScherova´ , Pavel Babica, Miroslava Pali´Kova´ , and
S. N. T. Veronika PasˇKova´ , Blahoslav Marsˇa´ Lek, and Ludeˇ K Bla´ Ha. (2007).
Microcystin Kinetics (Bioaccumulation And Elimination) And Biochemical Responses In
Common Carp (Cyprinus Carpio) And Silver Carp (Hypophthalmichthys molitrix)
Exposed To Toxic Cyanobacterial Blooms. Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry
26:2687-2693.
This source was published within the last five years by many credible authors. This
source will be most important in talking about additional chemical methods of population
reduction in silver carp species. The article is specific in discussion mostly to carp and not to
other species, but this is still very important and I have other sources to discuss the effects of
outside influences on other members of the Silver Carp’s communities.
Rach JJ, Boogaard M, & Kolar C (2009): Toxicity of Rotenone and Antimycin to Silver Carp
and Bighead Carp, North American Journal of Fisheries Management, 29:2, 388-395.
This article is written in an approved journal in a recent year. The authors are associated
with the US Geological Survey, so the information can be trusted and the authors are educated.
The most important part about this article is the discussion of the use of chemicals and piscicides
that may or may not harm other species in the environment. This may be the central article in the
discussion of chemical management.
Rinne JN, R. M. H., and Calamusso B. (2005). Historical Changes in Large River Fish
Assemblages of the Americas.in A. F. Society, editor.
This reference is still recent enough to be relevant to my topic. The first part to
understanding a current problem is to understand how it started, so the historical background will
probably be crucial in the introduction of the topic, probably the first thirty seconds of the
briefing. I can also compare pre- and- postimpoundment management plans and population
counts, bringing up the possibility to use impoundment as a strategy in the future or disprove
why it works.