Researchers Have Discovered Invasive Bloody Red Shrimp In The Great Lakes

The Bloody Red Shrimp has been found swimming the waters of Lake Superior. That deduction was made by researchers who discovered this new invasive species this past summer. The Detroit Free Press reported that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service did a survey of the Duluth-Superior harbor last summer and found a single specimen of the tiny shrimp in the lake.

The first signs of this species were found in Lake Ontario and Lake Michigan back in 2006. With the recent discovery made in Lake Superior, that means that all of the Great Lakes now contain these tiny creatures. Bloody red shrimp are native to Eastern Europe and scientists say the most likely way they found their way into Lake Superior was in a ship's ballast water.

Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources' Jeremy Bates says that there's no indication that the species has established themselves permanently in Lake Superior, while Doug Jensen of the Sea Grant program at the University of Minnesota Duluth says they are still unsure who the species' presence will affect the Great Lakes' ecosystem.

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