The Asian carp's high growth rate and large size keep most enemies away.īy the time any fish reaches a size of around 12 inches (30 cm), it is too big to be eaten by some of the important predator species in rivers and lakes. "They are like energy sponges, they consume foods that other species would eat, but nothing eats them. So the fact that they consume so much plankton means much of the sun's energy that those plankton captured during photosynthesis never becomes available to the other organisms in the food chain, Hoff said. "They have a really primitive digestive system, so they need to eat constantly, Hoff told Life's Little Mysteries.īecause they consume such massive amounts of plankton (a group of tiny free-floating plants and animals) and other organisms, which are the base of the food chain in lakes and rivers, the fish can disrupt the natural flow of nutrients through the ecosystem.Īnd they have few natural predators. Asian carp have poorly developed stomachs, which are inefficient at breaking down food and obtaining nutrients – and thus the necessary gluttony.
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