Theses and Dissertations

ORCID

https://orcid.org/0009-0007-2672-9130

Issuing Body

Mississippi State University

Advisor

Miranda, Leandro E.

Committee Member

Boudreau, Melanie R.

Committee Member

Dunn, Corey G.

Committee Member

Burger, Leslie M.

Committee Member

Riecke, Dennis

Date of Degree

12-13-2024

Original embargo terms

Visible MSU only 6 months

Document Type

Graduate Thesis - Campus Access Only

Major

Wildlife, Fisheries, and Aquaculture

Degree Name

Master of Science (M.S.)

College

College of Forest Resources

Department

Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Aquaculture

Abstract

Large populations of Silver Carp (Hypophthalmichthys molitrix) and Bighead Carp (H. nobilis), collectively called bigheaded carps, may have significant impacts where they are invasive. In the Lower Mississippi Alluvial Valley (LMAV), bigheaded carps have been documented in major rivers; however, knowledge of their distribution in oxbow lakes is lacking. Species distribution models are tools that can be used to estimate species distribution with presence data and environmental variables. As a cost-effective alternative to onsite sampling, I administered a questionnaire to biologists to inventory bigheaded carp presence and obtained environmental data from existing datasets. I used Maximum Entropy (Maxent) to illustrate predicted bigheaded carp distribution and identify drivers of that distribution. Carp presence was predicted in about 60% of lakes. Small lakes with greater inundation index and shorter distance to a river were predicted most likely to have carp present, and the greatest mean predicted carp presence was in the northwest LMAV.

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