Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Units Program: Mississippi
Education, Research and Technical Assistance for Managing Our Natural Resources

Population distribution and their spatial patterns are crucial for informing the conservation and management of fish populations. In the LMAV, mitigation of the effects of invasive carp expansion is dependent on a strategic approach to conservation assisted by access to large-scale inventories. Knowledge of invasive carp distribution is needed to identify conservation and research needs, adapt monitoring and management programs, customize environmental programs, and use conservation resources more effectively to achieve large-scale management objectives. Equipped with knowledge about distribution, distribution patterns, and factors shaping such patterns, a conservation organization can develop management plans and budgets based on a clearer concept of invasive carp distribution. Therefore, the goal of this study is to improve our understanding of distribution patterns of invasive carps across lakes of the Mississippi Alluvial Valley