Slideshow: Sparkling Lake Rebounds from Invasion

A recent study authored by our former postdoc and PhD student, Gretchen Hansen, reports that an intensive invasive-species trapping experiment had paid off for Sparkling Lake in northern Wisconsin. Not only did our researchers put a big dent in the rusty crayfish population but, four years later, they’re still being kept in check naturally.
Click on the picture below to launch a slideshow of life in the lake today.

After an invasion nearly wiped bluegill and their preferred habitat out, Sparkling Lake now boasts a booming population of the fish. Photo: Gretchen Hansen.All photos by Gretchen Hansen, Adam Hinterthuer and Lindsey Sargent.

The Sparkling Lake crayfish experiment was a project of Jake Vander Zanden’s lab at the CFL and the North Temperate Lakes Long-Term Ecological Research program.