21st Century Skills Library ANIMAL INVADERS S(cid:2)(cid:3) L(cid:3)(cid:4)(cid:5)(cid:6)(cid:2)(cid:7) Barbara A. Somervill Cher r y Lake Publishing Ann Ar bor, Michigan Published in the United States of America by Cherry Lake Publishing Ann Arbor, Michigan www.cherrylakepublishing.com Content Adviser: Marc Gaden, PhD, Communications Officer and Legislative Liaison, Great Lakes Fishery Commission, Ann Arbor, Michigan Please note: Our map is as up-to-date as possible at the time of publication. Photo Credits: Cover and pages 1 and 18, Courtesy of U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Archive, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Bugwood.org; page 4, ©iStockphoto. com/annedehaas; pages 7, 8, 11, and 23, Courtesy of T. Lawrence, GLFC; page 14, ©blickwinkelAlamy; page 17, ©Kari Niemeläinen/Alamy; page 21, ©iStockphoto.com/ Jarrod1; page 25, ©AP Photo/John L. Russell; page 27, ©AP Photo/The Knoxville News Sentinel, Amy Smotherman Map by XNR Productions Inc. Copyright ©2009 by Cherry Lake Publishing All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means without written permission from the publisher. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Somervill, Barbara A. Sea lamprey / by Barbara A. Somervill. p. cm.—(Animal invaders) Includes index. ISBN-13: 978-1-60279-240-1 ISBN-10: 1-60279-240-2 1. Sea lamprey—Juvenile literature. I. Title. II. Series. QL638.25.P48S66 2009 597'.2—dc22 2008000802 Cherry Lake Publishing would like to acknowledge the work of The Partnership for 21st Century Skills. Please visitwww.21stcenturyskills.org for more information. T(cid:3)(cid:8)(cid:9)(cid:2) (cid:10)(cid:11) C(cid:10)(cid:12)(cid:13)(cid:2)(cid:12)(cid:13)(cid:14) C H A P T E R O N E Evil Suckers! 4 C H A P T E R T W O Life of a Lamprey 7 C H A P T E R T H R E E Fishy Invader 13 C H A P T E R F O U R Many Problems 18 C H A P T E R F I V E Controlling the Sea Lampreys 23 Map 28 Glossary 30 For More Information 31 Index 32 About the Author 32 CHAPTER ONE E(cid:15)(cid:16)(cid:9) S(cid:17)(cid:18)(cid:19)(cid:2)(cid:6)(cid:14)! A sea lamprey has attached to this salmon swimming upstream in the Great Lakes. I n the early 1920s, a fisherman in Lake Erie caught more than he bargained for. His first catch was a walleye. But it had an open wound on its side. It looked like something had taken a neatly shaped bite out of the walleye. 4 21st CENTURY SKILLSLIBRARY The fisherman threw the walleye back and cast his line again. He caught four fish and then hauled in a nice-sized lake trout—with a gaping, oval wound on its side. The fisherman was puzzled. What could be doing this to Lake Erie’s fish? The fisherman’s next catch supplied the answer. He hauled in a large whitefish called a cisco—with a creature that looked like an eel attached to it. Its oddly shaped, oval mouth was firmly set in the cisco’s side. The creature was an invasive species called the sea lamprey. An invasive species is an animal or plant not native to an area whose introduction harms the local environment, economy, or human health. This animal invader would breed in great numbers and affect all the Great Lakes. One of North America’s most valuable resources is the Great Lakes. Originally carved out by huge bodies of ice ANIMAL INVADERS:S(cid:2)(cid:3)L(cid:3)(cid:4)(cid:5)(cid:6)(cid:2)(cid:7) 5 earning moving slowly over millions of years, the I & nnovation five Great Lakes are some of the largest in Skills The Great Lakes are the world. They mark part of the border large but also delicate. Conservationists between the United States and Canada. must think about all aspects of the lakes’ They also provide food, drinking water, environment to maintain thriving, balanced and fun for more than 40 million people. ecosystems. They know that animals Today, fisheries in the Great Lakes and plants play roles produce $4 billion each year. Thousands in the natural cycle of life. Building a canal, of workers depend on fishing, tourism, damming a river, or polluting a stream can and lake management to earn their living. have positive and negative long-range Keeping a healthy environment in all effects. It is important to consider how changes five Great Lakes is hard work. The fight or use will affect an ecosystem. Can you against pollution, loss of habitat, and think of ways that a canal or a dam might invasive species is never-ending. damage a stream or lake environment? 6 21st CENTURY SKILLSLIBRARY CHAPTER TWO L(cid:16)(cid:11)(cid:2) (cid:10)(cid:11) (cid:3) L(cid:3)(cid:4)(cid:5)(cid:6)(cid:2)(cid:7) The mouth of a sea lamprey is full of little teeth that it uses to attach to other creatures. S ea lampreys are truly ugly suckers! They live by attaching themselves to prey and sucking out their body fluids. These jawless fish are called parasites. Lampreys first lived hundreds of millions of years ago, long before dinosaurs roamed the land. ANIMAL INVADERS:S(cid:2)(cid:3)L(cid:3)(cid:4)(cid:5)(cid:6)(cid:2)(cid:7) 7 Seven gill pouches on each side of the body help the sea lamprey breathe. The adult lamprey measures from 12 to 30 inches (30 to 76 centimeters) long. It usually weighs a little more than 0.5 pound (227 grams). An adult lamprey has a gray-blue to brownish back, a lighter underside, and silvery sides. 8 21st CENTURY SKILLSLIBRARY