Round Goby

From Great Lakes Wiki

The Round Goby can be found in 4 of the 5 Great Lakes (Michigan, Huron, Superior, and Erie.) Although cousins of the Goby can be found in fresh and salt water around the world, they were first found in a Lake Superior bay in 1995. There appearance is attributed to ballast water from a trans-atlantic cargo ship. These bottom dwelling fish are very aggresive and can sense water flow which gives them the ability to feed in dark places.

[edit] Effects

Round Gobies have been found to affect the existing food chains in areas of the Great Lakes where it becomes an established population. It is a direct competitor with native bottom-dwellers like sculpins and darters, and will often eat the eggs and young of the lake trout, a species with already limited reproduction.
The Goby is a natural predator of Zebra Mussels, and a single goby can eat up to 78 mussels a day. Unfortunately, the Round Goby alone is not expected to have any noticeable effect on controlling Zebra Mussel populations.

Check out this Professor singing about the Round Goby

[edit] External Links

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