Selectivity of invasive species suppression efforts influences control efficacy

Highly fecund invaders and size-selective suppression efforts often limit the effectiveness of invasive species control programs, as compensatory processes can allow suppressed populations to recover. While population models have long explored how demographic characteristics impact management feasibility, there is a growing need to evaluate how the selectivity of suppression efforts might impact the long-term feasibility of control. We use a simulation framework that integrates age-based selectivity to evaluate the effect of increasing the range of ages selected for during harvest-based invasive species control. We applied this approach to common carp in Utah Lake, the location of one of the world’s largest freshwater vertebrate species control programs, to assess how selectivity impacts the level of control effort necessary to achieve management targets. Model simulations suggest that increasing the range of ages effectively targeted by removal gears has the potential to significantly ..., Site description Utah Lake is a large (~380 km2), shallow (average depth 3.2 m) lake located in Utah County, Utah, USA. In the early 2000s, non-native carp accounted for over 90% of the lake’s fish biomass (SWCA, 2002) and have contributed to reduced water quality, altered food web dynamics (King et al., 2024), and pose a threat to the endemic and federally threatened June sucker (Chasmistes liorus; USFWS, 2021). Since preliminary reports deemed complete carp eradication infeasible due to the lake’s size and connectivity, managers began carp removal efforts in 2009 with a target to reduce carp biomass by 75% (SWCA, 2002; 2005; Walsworth et al., 2020). Initial reports suggested the harvest program could suppress the population’s reproductive potential, achieve the control target in five years, and decrease harvest once the program achieved the target (SWCA, 2005; 2006). Data collection Since 2012, standardized annual surveys using the same commercial gear applied during removal efforts, ..., , # Data from: Selectivity of invasive species suppression efforts influences control efficacy [https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.jdfn2z3mw](https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.jdfn2z3mw) ## Description of the data and file structure This dataset is associated with the accepted paper \"Selectivity of invasive species suppression efforts influences control efficacy\". The study evaluated the selectivity of two commercial beach seines (a 1.5 in and a 0.75 in mesh seine) used to capture invasive common carp in Utah Lake. The study found no significant difference in selectivity between the two mesh sizes, but developed a simulation modeling framework for evaluating the control efficacy of hypothetical gear selectivities. ## Experimental setup and sampling protocols To obtain the density-by-age by seine haul for the 2020 and 2021 surveys: For each seine sample in 2020 and 2021, we recorded the total number of carp captured and randomly selected a subsample (up to 30 individuals) for total length and ...