New Crustacean Invader Found In The Great Lakes
Ann Arbor, Mich. — The Great Lakes are home to yet another invasive organism - the sideswimmer Gammarus tigrinus. The eventual arrival of this species was predicted by Igor A. Grigorovich and fellow researchers a few years ago. The shrimp-like crustacean, native to the Atlantic coast of North America, is a notorious invader in European waters where it has been aggressively eliminating native crustacean species. H.B. Noel Hynes of the University of Liverpool believes that Gammarus tigrinus was first "… introduced into Northern Ireland from North America during WWI by American troops, whence it crossed the Irish Sea as ballast, to the Liverpool/Chester area."
First identified in samples collected from Saginaw Bay, Lake Huron in 2003, Gammarus tigrinus was subsequently identified in samples collected from other shallow, coastline habitats in all five of the Great Lakes dating back to 2001.
http://www.iaglr.org/jglr/release/31/31_3_333-342.php
Posted by Dave at September 2, 2005 03:25 PM