Photo Friday: Water fleas in the Great Lakes By Shaheen Kanthawala | July 1, 2011 Spiny water fleas under a microscope. The tiny crustacean, native to Europe and Asia and introduced to the Great Lakes in the 1980s, eats small animals which are food for native fish. Image: NOAA Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory. Share this:TwitterFacebookRedditPinterestEmailPrint