Invasive Spiny Water Flea

An invasive species, the spiny water flea, is likely a primary driver of changes in Lake Huron's food web over the past decade.

Recent USGS research suggests that consumption of prey by invertebrates is outweighing consumption by fish in Lake Huron, and one invertebrate in particular – the invasive Bythotrephes, or spiny water flea – is likely a primary driver of changes in the food web. This predator ate 78 percent of all zooplankton prey consumed at the study sites, said Dr. David B. Bunnell, USGS scientist.

The total length of the spiny water flea in this photograph is 9.5 millimeters.