Wildlife

Invasive Species: Round Goby

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By Evan KreagerGreat Lakes Echo

The Nature Conservancy has named the round goby one of the five “usual suspects” invading the Great Lakes basin. Round gobies are native to the Black and Caspian seas, but have found their way into the Mississippi River as well as Lake Michigan. These fish have a heightened ability to sense water movement, allowing them to feed in the dark. Round gobies feed on native fish and their eggs, and have a “blood vendetta” against zebra mussels, according The Nature Conservancy. These gobies can grow up to 10 inches in length and somewhat resemble an overgrown tadpole with black, gray or brown skin.

Wildlife

Invasive Species: Eurasian Ruffe

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By Evan KreagerGreat Lakes Echo

The Nature Conservancy has named Eurasian Ruffe, a fish native to northern Europe and Asia, as one of the five “usual suspects” in the Great Lakes basin. This fish has invaded northern Lake Michigan and feeds on native fish eggs. It has sharp spines on its fins making it difficult for predators to catch and eat, giving it the nickname, “Dagger Fin.”

Eurasian Ruffe are generally just under a half a foot in length and have an olive or golden-brown color.

Wildlife

Invasive Species: Zebra Mussels

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Zebra mussels are one of five aquatic invasive species that The Nature Conservancy has deemed “‘the usual suspects’ doing the most damage in the Great Lakes basin and beyond.”

Originally from Eastern Europe and western Russia, zebra mussels are the only freshwater mussels that can attach directly to other objects. They most likely have come over attached to the bottoms of ships. Once here, the mussels grow in population rapidly. Zebra mussels can produce 100,000 to 500,000 eggs per year, according to The Nature Conservancy. Nicknamed “the Silent Strangler,” these pests smother native freshwater mussels and kill plankton that some fish need to survive.

Wildlife

Invasive Species: Sea Lamprey

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By Evan KreagerGreat Lakes Echo

The Nature Conservancy has named sea lampreys one of the five “usual suspects” invading the Great Lakes basin. These eel-looking parasites find a host and suck the life out of it. During the length of one life cycle, a sea lamprey can kill up to 40 pounds worth of fish and can grow up to 3 feet long. Sea lampreys are native to the Atlantic Ocean, Lake Ontario and the St. Lawrence River.

Wildlife

Little Things, Big Problems: Spiny water flea

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Last year, the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative began producing a series of educational videos about invasive species in the Great Lakes for the National Park Service. New videos are being uploaded this spring, and you can watch the entire “Little Things, Big Problems” series here on Echo. This video discusses the impact spiny water fleas have on the Great Lakes food web.

Echo

Study indicates Asian carp may already be in Great Lakes

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Study indicates Asian carp may already be in Great Lakes by EmanueleB

A new study released in April finds Asian carp may in fact be reaching the Great Lakes.  The Asian carp is an invasive species with an appetite large enough to potentially decimate the food chain ecosystem of the Great Lakes.  There have been many efforts to contain the spread of the fish in the Chicago Area Waterway System to connects to Lake Michigan.  The study now raises new questions about the effectiveness of that system. Current State’s Mark Bashore talks with study co-author Dr. Andrew Mahon, assistant professor of biology at Central Michigan University, and Dr. Tammy Newcomb, senior water policy advisor for the Michigan Department of Natural Resources.  

Water

Plant wars kick in when dams come out

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Dam removal in the Great Lakes region exposes nutrient-rich bottomlands.

That creates prime real estate for invasive plants.

Restoration solutions include poisoning the invaders with pesticides and spreading native plant seeds to revegetate the bottomlands.

Echo

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.