Ponto-Caspian gobies: Use of barriers to prevent migration

How is the evidence assessed?
  • Effectiveness
    50%
  • Certainty
    45%
  • Harms
    not assessed

Study locations

Key messages

  • A controlled, replicated field study in the USA, found that an electrical barrier prevented movement of round gobies across it, and that increasing electrical pulse duration and voltage increased effectiveness of the barrier.

 

About key messages

Key messages provide a descriptive index to studies we have found that test this intervention.

Studies are not directly comparable or of equal value. When making decisions based on this evidence, you should consider factors such as study size, study design, reported metrics and relevance of the study to your situation, rather than simply counting the number of studies that support a particular interpretation.

Supporting evidence from individual studies

  1. A controlled, replicated field study in the Shiawassee River, Michigan, USA (Savino et al. 2001) found that an electrical barrier prevented round goby Neogobius melanostomus movement across it.  Without any electrical current, round goby crossed the barrier within 20 minutes from release upstream. Using electrical settings shown to inhibit passage in the laboratory, the only marked round goby found below the barrier were dead.  At reduced pulse durations, a few round goby (on average one per test) were found alive, but debilitated, below the barrier.  Increasing electrical pulse duration and voltage increased the effectiveness of the barrier.  Feasibility studies in a 2 m donut-shaped tank determined the required electrical currents.  In field studies, an electrical barrier was placed between two blocking nets. The barrier consisted of 6 m wide canvas on which were laid four cables carrying the electrical current.  Twenty five latex paint-marked round goby were introduced upstream of the electrical barrier and recovered 24 h later upstream, on or downstream of the barrier.

    (1)Savino J.F., Jude D.J & Kostich M.J. (2001) Use of electric barriers to deter movement of round goby. American Fisheries Society Symposium, 26, 171-182

    Study and other actions tested
Please cite as:

Aldridge, D., Ockendon, N., Rocha, R., Smith, R.K. & Sutherland, W.J. (2020) Some Aspects of Control of Freshwater Invasive Species. Pages 555-87 in: W.J. Sutherland, L.V. Dicks, S.O. Petrovan & R.K. Smith (eds) What Works in Conservation 2020. Open Book Publishers, Cambridge, UK.

Where has this evidence come from?

List of journals searched by synopsis

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Control of Freshwater Invasive Species

This Action forms part of the Action Synopsis:

Control of Freshwater Invasive Species
Control of Freshwater Invasive Species

Control of Freshwater Invasive Species - Published 2017

Control of Freshwater Invasive Species Synopsis

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