GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — John Ball Zoo officials are monitoring a migratory species of fish that is crucial to the ecosystem with the help of community members.
Suckers, like the longnose sucker and white sucker, migrate from Lake Michigan to nearby rivers and streams, including the Grand River, to spawn.
By tracking suckers, zoo officials are hoping to aid in their conservation to help support the ecosystem.
“Suckers are incredibly important for the health of the rivers they spawn in, releasing huge amounts of nutrients that are important to other fish, plants and aquatic insects,” said Travis Kurtz, community science coordinator at John Ball Zoo. “We are excited to get the community involved in this project, and the data gathered will help us understand and preserve the river.”
In an effort to get more people involved in conservation, this is one of the zoo's community science projects, which utilizes trained volunteers. Each day, both zoo researchers and volunteers visit a sucker spawning site to count the fish they see and record conditions like water temperature and depth.
Kurtz said the zoo is always looking for more volunteers who want to get involved.
“This is an opportunity for folks who aren’t professional scientists to make a difference for important species locally,” Kurtz said.
If you're interested in taking part in a science project with John Ball Zoo, email Kurtz at tkurtz@jbzoo.org.
The zoo is hoping to expand sucker monitoring sites in the coming years.
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