Salt water can be desalinated for use as drinking water by going through a process to remove the salt from the water. The process costs so much that it isn't done on a very large scale. The cost of desalting sea water in the U.S. ranges from $1 to $16 per 1000 gallons.

Posted by Dave at 4:31 AM | Permalink

White Perch
Morone americana

Native to Atlantic coastal regions, White Perch invaded the Great Lakes through the Erie and Welland canals in 1950. Prolific competitors of native fish species, White Perch are believed to have the potential to cause declines of Great Lakes walleye populations.

White Perch have been found to eat the eggs of walleye, white bass,other White Perch and possibly other species as well. Fish eggs apparently are an important component of the diet of White Perch in the spring months. At times, depending on which fish is spawning, the eggs of either walleye or white bass comprise 100% of the White Perch’s diet. The collapse of the walleye fishery in the Bay of Quinte on the north shore of Lake Ontario coincided with the increase in White Perch population and may have been a result of egg predation and the resulting lack of recruitment.

Another concern is that White Perch, actually a species of the bass genus, have hybridized with native white bass in western Lake Erie. These hybrids were first noted in western Lake Erie in the early 1980s, the same time when White Perch were increasing in abundance in this area. Since these hybrids are capable of back-crossing with parent species as well as crossing among themselves, they could dilute the gene pool of both parent species. This hybridization is probably also occurring in the other Great Lakes.

White Perch were first found in the Great Lakes basin in Cross Lake in central New York in 1950. The Lake Superior population was first found in the Duluth harbor. It is actually still restricted to this harbor, possibly because it is the warmest part of the frigid lake.

Established in all five Great Lakes and their surrounding states, White Perch can also be found in Kentucky, Massachusetts, Missouri, Nebraska and New Hampshire. White Perch have been stocked intentionally in other areas for sport fishing. Their native range is the Atlantic Slope drainages from St. Lawrence-Lake Ontario drainage in Quebec south to South Carolina.

An excellent panfish highly regarded as a food fish in the Eastern United States, it is not often exploited as a game fish and generally is regarded as undesirable, especially when over-population in fresh waters causes the species to become stunted.

We have learned about many exotic species that depend on warmer water temperatures to reproduce. Do you think that Lake Superior’s colder water might effect what species survive in it?

Posted by Dave at 4:13 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The updates to the Superior Waters Project included Notes From the Trail, Photo of the Day, Daily Podcast, Cast Your Vote, Daily Dilemma, Daily Water Fact, Great Lakes Animal of the Day, and Video Clips. Out of all those different components, which one did you like the best? Why? Which component did you like the least? Why?

Posted by Dave at 3:59 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)