The spiny water flea is poised to enter Lake Champlain. The Lake Champlain Research Institute (LCRI) has confirmed massive numbers of spiny water fleas in the Glens Dalls Champlain Canal Feeder. the junction basin where the feeder canal branches off the Hudson River at Glens Falls. Dr. Tim Mihuc, Director of the LCRI, reports that recent sampling indicates that numbers this year have increased dramatically. This invasive, nuisance species can be expected to arrive in Lake Champlain via the Glens Falls Champlain Canal Feeder and Champlain Canal at any moment now. “They are on their way into the lake, if not already there,” Dr. Mihuc states. And once it arrives in Lake Champlain, expect it to be with us forever.
The introduction of this new invasive can cause a number of issues. Spiny water fleas are a nuisance as they attach to fish lines and leaders. Clumping on lines, they foul the eyes on fishing poles. However, this is a small part of the problem. When the spiny water flea population explodes, it consumes large amounts of native plankton on which walleye, perch and many other species of fish rely on each year during early stages of their development. Thus, the spiny water flea has the potential to negatively impact native fisheries. The spiny water flea is itself protected by its long spiny tail from being eaten by fish smaller than about two inches in length. This spiny tail may also puncture the stomachs of juvenile fish who feed on them.
The spiny water flea is not a flea. It is a type of planktonic crustacean of the order Cladocera. It measures ¼ to ½ inch in length. A long barbed tail makes up 70 % of its length. It can reproduce asexually with no males present. Numbers can explode in summer with 10 fold increases in a matter of two weeks. Sexual reproduction in the fall produces new eggs that over-winter before hatching.
The spiny water flea is native to Europe and Asia and is believed to have been transported in bilge water and dumped into Lake Huron (about 1984). It has rapidly spread throughout the Great Lakes and to other water bodies from there. It reached Great Sacandaga Lake in eastern New York in 2008. It has made rapid progress in eastern New York since then.
“Only time will tell how great any impacts on Lake Champlain’s fisheries may turn out to be,” says Wayne Laroche, Staff Scientist for the fisheries and water-quality advocacy organization Lake Champlain International. “And if it establishes an abundant population, don’t expect this “flea” to stop at Lake Champlain.”
—–
Join ODU Magazine on Facebook here at this LINK…..
Join ODU Magazine on our Twitter fishing site here at this LINK…..
Join ODU Magazine on our Twitter hunting site here at this LINK…..
.