How well do you know your Great Lakes aquatic species?

1) I’m an excellent swimmer. I’m dark brown with a long skinny tail. I can see and hunt equally well in clear or murky water. I have very sharp front teeth that I use to catch fish, frogs and even an occasional duck. I often use tools like rocks to help me prepare dinner. I’m very family-orientated, which is why most people adore me and videos of me always do well on the internet.

2) They’ve written poems and songs in honor of my calls. I’m often used as a symbol or ambassador of freshwater although some anglers dislike me because I also like to catch fish. I might look like a duck and swim like a duck but I’m not a duck. I’m an aquatic bird.

3) I’m not the biggest fish in the lakes but I’m one of the most popular. I’m basically a Great Lakes golden child with a ribbon of babies. I spend most of the day cruising through the shallows with a couple of my friends. We like to chase and eat minnows but we have to be careful or we’ll get eaten by a big fish.

4)  I’m the most famous fish in the Great Lakes which is appropriate given my ranking. My family has been in the Great Lakes since they formed 14,000 years ago. We’ve seen a lot of things change in that time. One of the worst was all the walls that were built that blocked off all the best rivers. Thankfully, many of those walls are now being torn down and our numbers are going up!

5) If it swims in the Great Lakes, it fears me. During the day I’m always hunting but that doesn’t necessarily mean I’m moving. Unlike others, I do not follow around schools of shiny fish. I’d rather conserve energy and wait for something to venture too close to me. Their mistake; my breakfast. I rest in a comfy grass bed at night.

6) Life can be challenging near the bottom of the food chain. Mid-water or near the surface is where I feel safest, preferably inside a very large school. The last place I want to be is on the fringe of the group.

7) Not to brag, but when it’s time to spawn, I’m one of the best nest builders in the Great Lakes. I’m only a few inches long but you would be amazed how big of rocks I can pick up.

8) If the Great Lakes were a coal mine, I’d be the canary because I’m very sensitive to pollution. To reproduce I need a fish with a very tough skull. Thankfully, log perch have a tough enough noggin that I can latch on without killing them.

9) Eels get a really bad wrap but I’m not a villain. I’m not even an eel even though that’s what they call it. I eat insects, small fish, clams, whatever I can get. I’m considered a delicacy in Europe but thankfully not in North America.

10) I don’t like bright light so I stay under logs during the day. My skin is thin and sensitive which makes me a good indicator of water quality. And water quality is extra important to me because I live my whole life underwater.