Great Lakes

Invasive weather fish in the Des Plaines

Shedd staff recently conducted surveys on the invasive weatherfish (Misgurnus anguillicaudatus) and here’s a picture of a weatherfish we found in the process. As a popular fish for home aquariums, it’s believed that weatherfish were released into Chicago waterways by well-intentioned pet owners attempting to dispose of them.  This is a good reminder to never release pets into the wild if you can no longer care for them.  It could potentially become another invasive population in an already taxed Great Lakes ecosystem! Stay tuned for a future posting about our project!

Posted by Nicole, conservation

Sea Lampreys In Detroit

One student from William Thorne Elementary in Dearborn Heights, Michigan had a funny reaction to seeing the sea lamprey in her school.  "They look gross!" she said.

It was neat for me to connect with these 4th and 5th grade students about the Great Lakes and invasive species.  These students where knowledgeable and interested in how they could help protect our lakes against invasive species.  As I see it, they are our future scientists and protectors of the Great Lakes so its wonderful to see that these students are willing to take action.

Posted by Eve, Fishes

Threatened fish found

Banded Killifish

Phil Wilink from the Field Museum and I went out to 12th Street Beach last week for a quick survey of the fish in the area.  I was amazed to see the banded killifish which is a native Great Lakes fish I have never seen before in my more than 20 years of fishing.  The banded killifish is a state threatened species based on Illinois Department of Resources standards which means it is a fish likely to become a state endangered species within the foreseeable future in Illinois.  It has most likely suffered because of invasive species like round gobies and alewives dominating the food supply in Lake Michigan.  I hope that seeing them near Burnham Harbor is a positive sign for their populations.

I go out regularly with the Great Lakes team to do beach sweeps at 12th Street Beach and never knew this fish was so close!

--Posted by Kurt, Fishes

Lampreys Invade Grand Rapids School

4th graders from Coit Art Academy in Grand Rapids enjoyed an up-close look at one of the Great Lakes most notorious invaders: the sea lamprey!  James Clark, senior aquarist at Shedd Aquarium and Gavin Christie, Manager of Sea Lamprey Information Systems of the Great Lakes Fishery Commission talked to students about the Great Lakes and the importance of keeping them healthy for the future.  Students even got a chance to feel what the slimy fish feels like!

Toast to Water Conservation!

The Great Lakes team is heading to Discovery World In Milwaukee, Wisconsin for the Great Lakes Craft Brewers & Water Conservation Conference.  Monday, October 26 is SPLASH!: a public event for audiences to sample craft beer and cheese tastings, plus a buffet dinner catered by Bartolotta’s.  Best of all you will learn about the water saving measures craft brewers are implementing and water conservation measures you can make at home!  Come hear keynote speakers Jake Leinenkugel, president of the Jacob Leinenkugel Brewing Co. and Marc Smith Great Lakes program Director of the National Wildlife Federation.

Find out more information or purchase tickets online here. 

Beach Sweep with Chicago RedEye

Special thanks to the RedEye Staff including green blogger Supriya Doshi and our dedicated volunteers for participating in last Saturday's beach sweep at North Avenue Beach.  We had beautiful crisp fall weather up until the last 20 minutes when the rain started pouring!

With about 55 volunteers we cleaned up 79 pounds of garbage and 79 pounds of recyclables!  We scoured the beach to find more than 3,400 cigarette butts and a variety trash: 82 plastic bags, 565 plastic bottle lids, 3 batteries, 216 food wrappers, 33 balloons and other random items. 

After the sweep, a volunteer wrote back that she now notices every cigarette butt on the sidewalk while walking to work downtown.  "It's tempting to pick up every one of those cigarettes because I know they might end up in the lake!"  It's true that beach sweeps are a great way to recognize the connection between our actions and the lakes!

Sign up for our last beach sweep of the season on Friday October 23rd by emailing Listentoyourlakes@sheddaquarium.org.

-Posted by Elizabeth

Coastal Clean Up Results

THANK YOU to the 275 volunteers who came out to 12th Street Beach last Saturday to help clean the beach for the International Coastal Clean Up.  The results were amazing!  Check it out:

• Total number of cigarette butts collected and properly disposed - 2,003
• Total number of plastic bags collected and properly disposed - 305
• Total number of food wrappers collected and properly disposed - 670
• Total number of beverage caps collected and properly disposed - 447
• Total number of plastic bottles collected and properly disposed - 86
• Total number of lighters collected and properly disposed - 22
• Total number of batteries collected and properly disposed - 7
• Total weight of recyclable items recovered from the beach - 120 pounds
• Total weight of garbage recovered from the beach - 234 pounds
• Total weight of items collected from the beach - 354!!

After each beach sweep it becomes clear that the simple things you do can make a difference.  Always recycle bottles and cans, never throw your picnic garbage in the sand and remember that the beach is not an ash tray. 

The last two beach sweep dates are Saturday October 3 and Friday October 23.  To join us email Listentoyourlakes@sheddaquarium.org. 

Asian Carp knocking on the door

New testing methods have shown DNA evidence of Asian carp being as close as 5 miles from the electric barrier in Romeoville.  Many are speculating what may happen if the carp get past the barrier and into Lake Michigan.  Some of my colleagues say the carp will immediately head for river and stream systems to find plankton.  Others question the amount of plankton left in Lake Michigan after the zebra mussel infestation.  Either way, we don't want to find out what will happen! Check out the SunTimes article here.

-Posted by Kurt, fishes

Coast Guard Water Rescue Drills

The Great Lakes team visited the Detroit River Days festival located directly on the Detroit River Walk.  During the festival, the US Coast Guard practiced a water rescue also known as a man overboard drill right in front of our booth.  I was amazed at how fast the crews were able to respond to a person pretending to be distressed in the water.  The whole exercise of flying in the helicopter, lowering the rescue diver, safely pulling up the distress victim, treating the victim for potential injuries and finally pulling up the rescue diver lasted about 5 minutes.  Good work guys!

Posted by Elizabeth, conservation

Pizza Man Loves Lake Michigan

Our friends Joe, John and Marty from Aurelio's Pizza stopped by 12th Street Beach to help keep our waterways safe and clean.  Twenty Shedd Aquarium employees and several volunteers from St. Paul's youth Group collected 101 pounds of garbage and properly disposed of 41 pounds of recyclables.  Plus, we picked up 200 cigarette butts which are dangerous for birds and young beach goers. 

A special appearance from Pizza Man was an extra surprise for the Great Lakes conservation team and our hardworking volunteers!  Though Pizza Man did not do much in the way of cleaning he certainly helped keep our energy levels high with lots of delicious Aurelio's pizza!

Don't know who Pizza Man is??  Watch the video to find out!

--Posted by Elizabeth, conservation