A relative of the "killer
shrimp" has been found in Worcestershire, the Environment Agency (EA) has
said.
The non-native shrimp, Dikerogammarus haemobaphes, has been
found in the River Severn at Tewkesbury and Bevere, near Worcester.
The EA said it was the first
time the shrimp had been found in the UK and it had also been discovered in two
Worcestershire canals.
It said experts were
"uncertain at this stage" what its impact might be.
The species was found after
samples were taken from the River Severn at the request of Severn Trent Water
and experts then identified them.
APEM, an environmental
consultancy specialising in water science and ecology, said one of its
scientists, Grant Ridley, identified Dikerogammarus
haemobaphes in a sample from Severn Trent Water.
The EA said that in Europe,
the shrimp "kills and competes with a range of native species" and
scavenges and eats plant matter, which "alters the ecology of the
habitat".
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