Invasive species issues have been achieving publicity lately with the help of Mike Rowe, the host of Dirty Jobs on the Discovery Channel.
The show profiles the lives of workers around the United States who have particularly “dirty” occupations. For example, host Mike Rowe has worked as a bologna maker, a maple syrup maker and a diaper cleaner. And tomorrow, he will show the public how taking care of invasive species in the Great Lakes can also be a dirty job. In the 34th episode of this season, Rowe acts as a Sea Lamprey Exterminator in Michigan. Airing tomorrow night at 9 p.m. on the Discovery Channel, he is featured with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, who is researching different ways to battle this species that threatens the fishing industry of the Great Lakes.
After watching a few of the clips posted on discovery.com, it seems that this will be a pretty interesting episode, with some strange features. Posted below and titled “Spit take” is a clip from the episode. It shows Rowe spitting into a tank of Sea Lamprey, under the recommendation of a U.S. Fish and Wildlife employee. The Lamprey go wild in response to the spit and begin jumping into the air. Some even leap out of their tank. Rowe asks why in the clip, but the official can only say that it is something they are studying. It’s a puzzling attribute of these creatures that certainly has not been well publicized or acknowledged by the scientific community.
This is also not the first time that invasive species have been included in the Dirty Jobs lineup. In fact, a few weeks ago, Rowe took on invasive species in the Florida Everglades. It’s clear that these creatures create sticky situations for both the ecosystems they invade and the people researching them.