2018 Quality Assurance Project Plan for the eDNA Monitoring of Bighead and Silver Carp

USFWS Midwest Region requires a Quality Assurance Project Plan (QAPP) for eDNA monitoring. Full- scale eDNA monitoring commenced in September 2010 by the USACE, and based on consultation with experts in processing of litigable DNA evidence (which applies to eDNA monitoring), a final, comprehensive QAPP was not in place within that time frame. Instead a provisional QAPP was used during the first year of eDNA monitoring, to be followed later by a finalized version under a different scope of work. The USFWS will continue to maintain and update a QAPP for use in eDNA monitoring programs that allows for inclusion of any beneficial technical or strategic modifications that become apparent from past monitoring events, research conducted by the eDNA calibration research team, or research published in the literature and vetted by the eDNA calibration team or other USFWS genetics laboratories.

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Report
Facility
PCR machine with blue strand of DNA
The Whitney Genetics Laboratory uses environmental DNA (eDNA) testing for early detection of invasive carp in the Chicago Area Waterway System, the Illinois, Upper Mississippi and Ohio Rivers as well as tributaries of all five Great Lakes. The lab also provides species identification via genetic...
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Public Domain
Program
Juvenile Northern Pike in aquarium at Gavins Point National Fish Hatchery, South Dakota
The Fish and Aquatic Conservation program leads aquatic conservation efforts for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. We are committed to tackling the nation’s highest priority aquatic conservation and recreational challenges to conserve, restore, and enhance fisheries for future generations.
Aquatic invasive species cause tremendous harm to our environment, our economy, and our health. They can drive out and eat native plants and wildlife, spread diseases, and damage infrastructure. We work to protect our waterways and the communities that depend on them from the threat of invasive...
Species
Underwater photo of a bighead carp in a tank with white background

Bighead carp (Hypophthalmichthys nobilis) are native to eastern Asia and are one of four nonnative fish referred to as “invasive carp”. These fish are large, deep bodied fish that have a large head and a large toothless mouth with a protruding lower jaw. The bighead carp eyes are far...

FWS Focus
A Silver carp jumping out of the water with boat wake below and a tree lined shoreline in the background

Silver carp (Hypophthalmichthys molitrix) are one of four nonnative fish species belonging to a group commonly referred to as “invasive carp”. Native to eastern Asia, silver carp were introduced to the United States during the 1970’s and 1980’s to private fish farms and wastewater...

FWS Focus
FWS and DOI Region(s)