Quantcast

The DNAinfo archives brought to you by WNYC.
Read the press release here.

Chicago Scientists Made Mudpuppies 'Burp Up' Dinner To Study What They Eat

By Justin Breen | December 19, 2016 5:44am | Updated on December 23, 2016 7:38am
 A recent study was completed about the mudpuppies in Chicago's Wolf Lake.
Mudpuppy study
View Full Caption

CHICAGO — A threatened amphibian inhabiting Chicago waters is doing its best to eliminate invasive species like rusty crayfish, zebra mussels and round gobies.

Mudpuppies, brownish amphibians with external, red featherlike gills, have been found to dine on all three invasive species, according to a recently completed, two-year project from a pair of Shedd Aquarium researchers. The study focused on mudpuppies found in Wolf Lake on the city's far Southeast Side.

"Native or non-native species, they're going to eat it. That's good news for the mudpuppies," said project leader Alicia Beattie, research associate at Shedd Aquarium and master’s graduate from Southern Illinois University. Beattie teamed on the project with Shedd Aquarium Senior Research Biologist Philip Willink and Southern Illinois University Professor Matt Whiles.

"This study drew attention to a salamander that most people never heard of," Beattie added. "And at Wolf Lake, you can see the skyline and it looks industrial, but you have this pretty rare amphibian right there."

The amphibians, which can grow more than a foot long and live 20-plus years, live underwater near the shorelines of various city waters, including Lake Michigan and Wolf Lake. Many times, fishermen accidentally catch them at Navy Pier and other city shoreline spots and harbors, Beattie said.

The species is threatened in Illinois, and Beattie said it's difficult to determine how many live in and around Chicago. Beattie said she trapped the mudpuppies with "funnel-type minnow traps" containing a variety of bait, including shrimp, earthworms and even canned cat food. She also used handnets to corral them after flipping over rocks the salamanders were hiding under.

Alicia Beattie holds a mudpuppy found in Wolf Lake. [Shedd Aquarium]

To extract the food mudpuppies had eaten, a tube was inserted into their throats to "burp up" recent meals. Beattie said the study showed that smaller mudpuppies ate aquatic insects and leaches, while the larger ones — mudpuppies up to 15 inches were caught — were eating larger prey including the invasive species.

The study also showed the best time for future researchers to catch mudpuppies. Beattie said surprisingly that's when water temperatures are below 57 degrees and many times when Wolf Lake was covered in ice.

"We would find them in the heart of winter," she said. "We had to drill holes in the ice and go out in waders when the water was very cold."

Shedd Aquarium has a mudpuppy on exhibit.

For more neighborhood news, listen to DNAinfo Radio here.