The Round Goby Introduction Exotic species in Canada are increasing rapidly through the transport of ballast water across the ocean. Zebra mussels, discovered in the 1990's posed a major threat for the southern Great Lakes, and the round goby is now posing a threat for the native fish species in all five of the Great Lakes. It is important for the public to be able to identify exotic species, know how to avoid the spread of exotics, and know how to reduce the spread of exotics already existing in their area.
The round goby, also known as the Neogobius melanstomus, is the newest addition to the dangerous list of exotic species invading the Great Lakes (SGNIS 2001). The round Goby was not discovered until 1990 when it was found in the St. Clair River, just North of Detroit (Great Lakes Science Center 2001). By 1995, the round goby has spread to all five Great Lakes, with confirmed sighting in Lake Ontario, Lake Erie, Lake Huron, Lake Michigan and Lake Superior (Manz 1998).
The Great Lakes as seen from space. The Great Lake...
The many islands of the Detroit River made smuggli...
Round goby from the Great Lakes, USAReferences Great Lakes Science Center. (Jan. 30, 2001). Round Goby: An Exotic Fish in the Great Lakes. [WWWdocument]. URL http://www.glsc.usgs.gov/information/factsheets/roundgoby00/roundgoby00.htm.
Manz, Cordell H. (Dec 1998). The Round Goby: An example of the "Perfect" Invader. [WWWdocument]. URL http://www.inhs.uiuc.edu/chf/pub/surveyreports/nov-dec98/goby.html.
Round Goby Distribution Map. (n.d.). Retrieved November 5, 2001 from http://nas.er.usgs.gov/fishes/images/goby_map.gif.
Round Goby ID Card. (n.d.). Retrieved November 4, 2001 from http://www.seagrant.umn.edu/exotics/gobyid.html. Sea Grant Non Indigenous Species Site (SGNIS). (1990) The Round Goby. [WWWdocument] URL www.sgnis.org/www/goby.htm.
Upper Midwest Environmental Science Center (UMESC). (July 7, 2000). The Round Goby. [WWWdocument] URL www.umesc.usgs.gov/exotic/species/round_goby.html.
English: Tha Range of the Round Goby in Old World ...
Lake Erie, looking southward from a high rural blu...
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