In a research pond in La Crosse, Wisconsin, scientists from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and U.S. Geological Survey are testing the effectiveness of a new strategy to ward off an Asian carp invasion that’s threatening the health of the Great Lakes, including Lake Michigan. The study called for placing a carbon dioxide infusion
Asian carp were imported from China to the U.S. in the 1970s to remove algae from catfish farms and wastewater treatment ponds. Somehow they escaped and migrated north through the Mississippi and Illinois rivers. The species spawn in rivers and feed on phytoplankton, disrupting the food chain for younger fish. The voracious eaters can weigh