MARQUETTE, MI (AP)-- Researchers are working this summer to monitor crayfish populations in the Upper Peninsula as part of a broader study of the crustaceans.
The Michigan Department of Natural Resources and Michigan State University are partnering on the effort at about 140 sites to determine the distribution of native and invasive crayfish.
The DNR's Fisheries Division and the East Lansing school have been working together since 2014 on a crayfish study to better understand populations throughout Michigan. Previously, the study focused its sampling efforts on the waters of the Lower Peninsula.
Researchers have collected detailed information on the distribution of Michigan's eight native crayfish species along with the rusty crayfish, an invasive species.
Rusty crayfish were initially introduced to the state's waters via the live release of unused bait.
