Although the goby studies are in their early stages, researchers already know the impact of their emergence will continue to be wide-ranging and difficult to predict. Baker's goal was to establish study sites at which researchers can track the gobies over the period of years to check for changes in the biological communities where they are found. Research into their behavior patterns and effects on the lake ecosystems, including sport fishery, present a series of complex issues to be investigated. For example, about 98 percent of the gobies' diet is zebra mussels, so scientists want to determine their potential for affecting the zebra mussel population. There is the possibility they may interfere with other fishes' breeding behaviors.
Gobies tend to lie above rocky, cobbly and occasionally sandy surfaces.
So there also is potential for interference with these species. So far, the goby fish studies have led Baker and other researchers across the state and in the Great Lakes region to discern valuable information about that species and its interrelational behavior with other species. Earlier this year, a group of about 50 biologists gathered in Chicago for the first conference on the goby. As his research progresses, Baker plans to map fish abundances and continue to examine changes over time, particularly at the Kelley's Island site. Another issue yet to be studied is the loss of diversity of species at the expense of the diversity of other species.