Notre Dame Scientists Publish Peer Reviewed Article on Asian Carp Invasion

Posted January 5, 2011

The work of the University of Notre Dame research team showing an ongoing Asian carp invasion of Lake Michigan got a big validation today with their publication in Conservation Letters, a peer-reviewed journal.

This publication lends further support to eDNA being a valuable and reliable tool for detecting the presence of Asian carp.  We've heard so much criticism over the last year that the eDNA method has never been subjected to peer review... well now it has, and it has passed the scrutiny of at least this one journal.  Hopefully this publication -- along with others that are likely to follow -- will finally put the question of the legitimacy of eDNA to rest. 

The eDNA has shown us that Asian carp are present in Chicago’s waterways and likely swimming into Lake Michigan.  It’s long past time to move beyond talking about whether there’s a real problem here and get serious about solving it.

NRDC published a report last October entitled “Re-Envisioning the Chicago River,” in which we worked with engineers at the Shaw Environmental firm to identify the hydrological and water quality issues that would need to be addressed to create a permanent separation in the Chicago waterway system.  Separation is the only reliable solution that will achieve close to 100% prevention of invasive species transfers through the Chicago waterway system – dealing not just with the Asian carp, but with all of the other invasive species that are queued up to follow.

Our report found that separating the two basins doesn’t require a magic bullet; it can be done with off-the-shelf technology, and done relatively quickly.  The only thing we’re missing is the political will.