A dangerous invasive species has made itself at home in the Great Lakes and has made his presence known. This parasitic fish used to be native to the Atlantic ocean but quickly invaded the Great Lakes when canals were added to make transporting goods in an out of the Great Lakes easier.
The sea lamprey is particularly devasting because of their many rows of sharp horn-shapes teeth. They use their mouths to latch on to fish and suction themselves to the fish. They then use their razor-sharp tongue to feed on the fish’s blood and other body fluids. Most fish usually do not survive the vicious attack.
The sea lamprey only lives for a 12 to 18 month feeding period. However, a single sea lamprey is a fierce predator to the local fish populations. During its short lifespan it can kill up to 40 pounds of fish.
You may ask: What is being done to protect our fisheries?
To protect our fish lampricides have been developed to kill larval sea lampreys. Traps have also been deployed to try and catch them before they reproduce. These methods have shown to be effective in trying to minimize the damage of such a parasitic invasive species.
References
http://www.glfc.org/sea-lamprey.php
Images
http://www.lakescientist.com/scientists-look-control-sea-lamprey-spread-pheromone
http://www.glfc.org/sea-lamprey.php