Research and Risk Assessment Committee

The goal of the Research and Risk Assessment Committee is to identify and prioritize AIS issues, including new invaders, pathways, and potential control methods that require attention in the Mississippi River Basin.

Committee Charge:

This committee is charged with identifying and addressing knowledge gaps about current and potential AIS in the Mississippi River Basin. Risk assessment and research topics can vary greatly from basic AIS biology to applied management techniques. As such, this committee encompasses a variety of interests, from researchers to managers.

Roles and Responsibilities:

• Identify research priorities that address realized and potential biological and ecological effects of AIS.
• Foster research initiatives that further understanding of the biology, ecology, and potential impacts of AIS; address pathways by which these invaders are dispersed; and promote control, eradication, baseline monitoring, and prevention of AIS.
• Be aware of and communicate to the MRBP on-going AIS research in the Basin.
• Review scientific proposals that researchers will submit to external funding agencies and identify those warranting a letter of support from the MRBP.  Suggest supporting worthy proposals and draft letter of support for worthy proposals including its relation to the research priorities identified by the MRBP.

Recent Accomplishments:

• The Research and Risk Assessment Committee updated contact information on the black carp identification and reporting guide “Keep, Cool, Call.”
• The MRBP funded work through Southern Illinois University that resulted in a final report titled, Water Sampling in the Mississippi River Basin to Inform Calcified Structure Chemistry Studies on Fishes, with an associated dataset available for use. The MRBP also developed a summary document for this work (click here).
• The Research and Risk Assessment Committee provided contract support and management for a multi-year MRBP agreement with the University of Nebraska Omaha to conduct and complete a silver carp genetics project titled, “Identifying Target Spawning Populations through Genomic Analysis for Directed Management”. This project has just completed, and the final report will be presented at the April 9-11, 2024 MRBP Meeting in Arkansas.

Learn more by viewing the MRBP Resources and Funded Research Projects.