Science · Invasive carpSt Paul carp research: New CT scanner looks inside intact fishWritten November 5, 2026 at 1:34 AM UTCWatchTranscript0:07A new scanner lets researchers look inside invasive carp without cutting the0:11specimens apart.0:12University of Minnesota researchers want those images to help protect waterways from0:17invasive fish while preserving movement for native species.0:20They're investigating whether carp anatomy could point to sounds that drive invasive0:25fish away.0:26Can that research produce a deterrent that works selectively and keeps working?0:30The Bell Museum in St.0:31Paul now houses a Nikon Voxels20 C225 microCT scanner.0:36It creates three-dimensional views of internal anatomy while keeping preserved0:41specimens intact, giving researchers another way to explore how animals evolved.0:46Cassandra Ford is the museum's curator of fishes and mollusks, and a University of0:51Minnesota assistant professor in fisheries, wildlife, and conservation biology.0:56She singled out a bat skull as particularly striking in three dimensions.1:01The equipment also opens opportunities for student research, with carp among dozens1:06of possible applications.1:08The specimen rotates while the scanner collects a succession of x-ray views.1:13A computer then reconstructs those views into a three-dimensional object.1:18Researchers can examine the interior while leaving the original specimen in one1:23piece for further study.1:25Ford wants to investigate how invasive carp skulls evolved, and whether their1:30anatomy offers a clue to differences in hearing.1:32The practical goal is a sound carp can detect and avoid while native fish continue1:37through the same water.1:38An anatomical difference gives researchers somewhere to start.1:42They still have to connect it to hearing and behavior.1:46Ford's ambition is to produce a sound that makes carp avoid an area.1:51Her CT work hasn't yet demonstrated a sound that reliably repels carp while1:57sparing native fish.1:58That selective protection is the result researchers are pursuing.2:02Invasive carp are spreading through the Mississippi River Basin and pose ecological2:07risks.2:08Existing hearing and sound deterrent research specifically includes silver and big2:14head carp.2:14Minnesota also classifies grass and black carp as invasive.2:19Findings about silver and big head carp can't simply be extended to all four2:23species, and Ford hasn't identified which carp species her scanning project targets.2:29Silver carp have already faced thirty-minute underwater sound tests in earthen2:33ponds.2:34Researchers tracked transmitter-equipped fish using underwater monitoring arrays.2:39They played three sounds: chirp saw, chirp square, and a hundred horsepower boat2:44motor.2:45Those experiments were separate from Ford's imaging work.2:48That experimental setup alone doesn't tell us how effectively the sounds deterred2:53the fish.2:54Other work on conditioning silver and big head carp describes broad frequency sound2:59deterrence as promising and under assessment in Mississippi River navigation locks.3:04Such barriers aim to reduce carp passage while allowing vessels through.3:09But no single deterrent is completely effective, and fish may grow accustomed to3:14repeated sound.3:15Sound deterrents have had variable success.3:18Researchers have relatively few controlled or long-term studies to judge, and some3:23experiments haven't described their sounds precisely enough.3:26A useful response must last through repeated exposure if it's going to help protect3:31a waterway.3:32Sound remains attractive because it can travel considerable distances and is3:37relatively independent of light and weather.3:40It can also work alongside navigation, and may be relatively inexpensive to3:45implement.3:46Those advantages explain the interest.3:48They don't provide a price or an effectiveness guarantee for anything that might3:53emerge from this scanner project.3:55The university announced the scanner's acquisition on August3,2026 , and described4:01it as installed by October14 .4:03The November4 explanation of Ford's CARP research adds a practical ambition to that4:09capability.4:10Funding work began earlier.4:11The CT project's work plan was submitted June5,2025 , and approved4:17June24 .4:18Ford's original proposal requested $1,062 ,0004:23.4:23The approved project budget is $955 ,000.4:27That funding covers the CT scanning project called visualizing Minnesota's Natural4:33Resources with CT scanning.4:35The scanner's individual purchase price hasn't been identified within that total.4:40The scanner's potential reach extends across insects, birds, reptiles, and mammals.4:46Ford also described studying animal groups whose evolutionary histories stretch back4:51hundreds of millions of years.4:53The images offer a way to investigate that long history across preserved animals,4:58while leaving the museum's specimens available for future research.5:02Researchers describe a prospective scope of up to three million specimens.5:07The museum lists more than one point two million scientific specimens.5:11Its biodiversity atlas holds over two point two million records.5:15The museum hasn't explained how those counts fit together.5:18A database record doesn't automatically represent another physical specimen, and the5:23scanning figure describes future work.5:25For CARP, the scanner now supplies detailed anatomy to investigate.5:30Researchers still need evidence that a sound discourages invasive fish, preserves5:34native fish passage, and keeps working after repeated exposure.5:39They haven't announced a date for that test.Read the articleStory timelineHeyDex
