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Judas test: Will carp betray their own?

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University of Minnesota researchers are recruiting common carp to test a way to eliminate Asian carp, according to WCCO-TV. Fisheries experts fear that the invasive Asian carp may spread into the Great Lakes and elsewhere and outcompete native fish with its voracious appetite. The researchers are fitting common carp, or “Judas fish,” with transmitters to lead them to other, larger schools of common carp, the station reports. “(Carp) seem to be actually exceptionally social, they really hang out together,” researcher Peter Sorensen told the station. “We have to confirm that, but it sure looks that way.”

If the experiment shows how a common carp can “betray” other common carp locations, the same technique could be used in Asian carp populations to help exterminate them in the future, said Bill Hudson, the story’s reporter.

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Urban flooding a regional dilemma

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Residents of Great Lakes cities are increasingly victims of urban flooding.

Getting a handle on the problem is difficult as property owners often don’t want to talk about sewage spilling into their homes.

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Satellites reveal scant Great Lakes ice cover

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A composite map of the Great Lakes produced by NOAA’s CoastWatch organization shows near-historic low ice coverage across the region. The map, known as the Great Lakes Surface Environmental Analysis, is a composite of data taken from NOAA satellites orbiting the earth’s poles and radar scans of the lakes by the National Ice Center. The resulting image shows surface water temperature and ice coverage, important data for region scientists, fishermen and boaters. The map’s data is updated daily. “Previously, the lowest ice coverage year was 2002,” CoastWatch manager George Leshkevich said.