An important link in the food chain is fast disappearing in atleast three of the Great Lakes. Fisheries are already seeing theeffects.The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Lester Graham reports:
Transcript
An important link in the food chain is fast disappearing in at least three
of the Great Lakes. Fisheries are already seeing the effects. The Great
Lakes Radio Consortium’s Lester Graham reports.
Diporeia is a small shrimp-like creature. About a half-inch long. It’s an
important food for young fish. Marc Tuchman is an environmental
scientist with the Environmental Protection Agency’s Great Lakes National
Program office. He says lots of fish depend on the disappearing food source.
“Fish such as the perch, the chub, the sculpin, smelt, and
whitefish all are known to feed on this organism. So, certainly we expect
to see some impacts to these fish.”
Diporeia has disappeared from Lake Erie and populations are way down in
Lakes Michigan and Huron. Commercial fishers already have seen declines
in some of the fish populations that depend on the organism. The scientists
aren’t sure why diporeia is declining. But they think it might be connected
to the zebra mussel invasion of The Lakes. For the Great Lakes Radio Consortium,
this is Lester Graham.