Final answer:
Asian carp were introduced to the United States in the 1970s and escaped into waterways, including the Mississippi River. They are voracious feeders and rapid reproducers, outcompeting native species and altering ecosystems.
Step-by-step explanation:
Asian carp were introduced to the United States in the 1970s by fisheries and sewage treatment facilities that used the fish's excellent filter feeding capabilities to clean their ponds of excess plankton. Some of the fish escaped, and by the 1980s they had colonized many waterways of the Mississippi River basin, including the Illinois and Missouri Rivers.
Asian carp are voracious feeders and rapid reproducers, which can outcompete native species for food and lead to their extinction. One species, the grass carp, competes with native species for resources and alters nursery habitats by removing aquatic plants. In some parts of the Illinois River, Asian carp constitute 95 percent of the community's biomass.
Although edible, Asian carp are bony and not desired in the United States.