|
New Visitor to the Great Lakes |
|
|
On Monday, I hosted an ad hoc Congressional hearing on the deteriorating health of the Great Lakes with my colleagues U.S. Reps. Judy Biggert (R-IL), Dan Lipinski (D-IL) and Peter Roskam (R-IL).
We heard testimony from a variety of federal, city and environmental experts about issues facing the Great Lakes, including mercury and PCB contamination, sewage dumping and invasive species. You can read more information about the event here.
By now, most people have heard about the dangers that Asian carp bring to the Great Lakes ecosystem. However, one of the panelists, Dr. Stephen Brandt of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Great Lakes Environmental Research Lab, told us about the latest invasive species to make its home in the Great Lakes.
The Bloody Red Shrimp, pictured below, makes its home in the Caspian Sea. But researchers with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration have found shrimp living in southeastern Lake Ontario and in Lake Michigan near Muskegon, Michigan. Scientists believe it stowed away in the ballast water of ships traveling across the Atlantic Ocean to the Great Lakes.
It’s not yet known how the introduction of the shrimp will affect the Great Lakes. But it is a telling example of the work we need to do to prevent the spread of invasive species in our waterways. |
|
| |
The Great Lakes' newest visitor, the Bloody Red Shrimp
|
|
|
|
