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EmailResearchers Use Robotic Boats to Track Invasive Fish
A team of researchers from the University of Minnesota is using robotic boats to track invasive fish in metro lakes. The main target: the common carp ... a notorious bottom feeder that makes the water dirty and uproots plants.
At one of the test lakes in Eden Prairie, about 20 common carp have been tagged and emit radio signals. The robotic boat has an antenna which tracks the radio signals. Since carp tend to cluster, one fish can lead them to thousands.
Locating the common carp and understanding its patterns is the easiest way to remove them without having to poison the lake or remove other species of fish along with them.
The robotic boats, which are part of a National Science Foundation project, can run for three to four hours at a time.
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