Some Seed Shrimp Survive Being Eaten By Great Lakes Gobies

LANSING — Not many of the Earth's creatures can say that they've survived being chewed up and excreted, but the ostracods of the Great Lakes can.

Ostracods — also known as seed shrimp — can survive getting eaten by the round goby, an invasive fish that comes from central Eurasia, according to a recent study.

The study, published in the "Journal of Great Lakes Research," suggests that the round goby can eat small freshwater mussels, but are less well-adapted to feeding on other hard-bodied prey such as ostracods. In the study,16.6 percent of the ostracods eaten by gobies were found alive after they were excreted.

The finding is important because if non-native and invasive prey survive getting eaten by gobies, then they could be spread as far as the fish swim.

The round goby was accidentally introduced by ballast water in the early- to mid-1990s, as were zebra and quagga mussels, said Seth Herbst, a fisheries biologist for the Department of Natural Resources.

Read more in the Record-Eagle here: http://www.record-eagle.com/news/lifestyles/great-lakes-crustacean-can-survive-being-eaten-by-goby/article_8550cb71-8be2-5e0e-834c-32e435eafa0e.html