Invasive Bloody Red Shrimp Found In Lake Superior

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MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — A new invasive species has turned up in Lake Superior, the bloody red shrimp.

(credit: NOAA)

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service says researchers found a single specimen of the tiny shrimp in the Duluth-Superior harbor last summer.

There are now documented findings of bloody red shrimp in all of the Great Lakes. They were first found in Lake Ontario and Lake Michigan in 2006.

Bloody red shrimp are native to Eastern Europe. Scientists say they may have reached Lake Superior in a ship's ballast water.

Jeremy Bates of the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources says there's no indication yet that they've become established in Lake Superior.

Doug Jensen of the Sea Grant program at the University of Minnesota Duluth says it's not clear yet how they'll influence Great Lakes ecosystems.