Year: 2014

Algae Blooms in Fall Mean Lake Mendota Is Mixed Up

Originally Published October, 2014 – Earlier this month, anyone down on the shores of Madison’s lakes may have noticed the water tinged the green hue of an algae bloom, something we normally associate with the warmer summer months. But a final fall bloom isn’t all that unusual – It just means that the lakes are, literally, …

Field Samples: Snorkleing in Thailand

Welcome to our new “Field Samples” series. We conduct so much cool research at the CFL, that it’s hard to keep track. So, each week, we’ll do a Q&A with a faculty member, post doc, or grad student and ask what they’ve been up to, where it’s taken them, and what they’ve learned. Today, Aaron …

Field Samples: Exploring Antarctic Lakes

Welcome to our new recurring blog feature – Field Samples. We’ve got so much cool research going on at the Center for Limnology, that it’s hard to keep track. So, each week, we’ll do a Q&A with a faculty member, post doc or grad student and see what they’ve been up to, where it’s taken …

Fish Fry Day Video: The Salmon Cannon

If you go around the Twitter-verse hashtagging things like #salmoncannon (thanks @USFWSColeman!), chances are we’re going to notice here at the blog. So, without further ado, a mesmerizing video of the latest in safe, yet awesome, “fish transport systems.” This sucker shoots salmon up to 22 miles per hour! The projectiles, I mean, amazing migratory …

Invasive Spiny Water Flea Found in Trout Lake

New Invasive Species Confirmed in Trout Lake, Vilas County BOULDER JUNCTION, WI – The aquatic invasive species known as spiny water flea has been confirmed in Trout Lake in Vilas County. On September 22, 2014 a local fisherman noticed what he suspected were spiny water fleas attached to his gear. He collected specimens and contacted …

The Tables Turned: Fish Eat Mammals More Often Than You Think

The following is from The Nature Conservancy’s “Cool Green Science” blog on a study co-led by new CFL post-doc, Peter Lisi. By Matt Miller, senior science writer, TNC — A shrew, hunting insects along a stream bank, slips into the icy water. It swims frantically to reach shore, using all its energy to stay afloat. …

The Air/Water Connection: Lakes Crucial to Songbird Survival

by Meredith Smalley TROUT LAKE STATION — While most projects at the University of Wisconsin’s Trout Lake Station put their boats into lakes to perform research, one project team heads into the forests surrounding lakes for their data collection. Paul Schilke, a graduate student at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, is looking at how aquatic insects …

A River Sometimes Rushes, Sometimes Meanders Through It

Last Wednesday, your trusty blogger accompanied Center for Limnology post doc, Peter Levi, as he headed to Milwaukee for his research on what is, frankly, an under-served ecosystem in limnological circles – the urban river. Most metropolitan areas have a sordid history with their rivers. The waterways that first made them appealing for settlement, soon …

Dishing Out Science (and Ice Cream) at Trout Lake Station Open House

by Meredith Smalley BOULDER JUNCTION, Wis. — The first of August was a gorgeous day in northern Wisconsin: temperatures were in the mid-70s, the waters of Trout Lake were remarkably calm and clear, and the mosquitoes, for the first time this summer, were nowhere to be found. It was the perfect day for Trout Lake Station‘s …

Toxic Algae, Drinking Water and Why Madison Won’t Be Toledo

In case you missed the news the last couple of days, around 400,000 residents of the city of Toledo, Ohio were advised to completely avoid the city’s drinking water thanks to a bloom of a cyanobacteria (often called blue-green algae) called microcystis. The bloom occurred in Lake Erie, where Toledo gets its water supply. Microcystis …