They found that 0.2 percent of eggs endured the journey through the bird’s digestive tract and showed up in their fresh feces.
A single common carp lays up to 1.5 million small, sticky eggs every time it spawns, and it can spawn multiple times per season.
These eggs float in the water or sink to the shallows and attach to submerged plants.
Turns out, six ducks pooped out 18 intact fish eggs, and 12 of those recovered eggs housed live embryos.
Next, the researchers placed the live eggs in aquaria filled with river water to see if they were viable.
They found that three of the 12 eggs—one common carp and two Prussian carp eggs—hatched within three days of incubation.
Sorensen points out that common carp hatchlings rarely survive in North America’s lakes because predatory fish eat them. »
