University of Wisconsin–Madison

Month: August 2020

Water We Talking About? The Greatest Lake(s)

A debate recently broke out among a couple of my daughter’s friends. Or, perhaps debate is too strong a word – a question was posed, and the answer was elusive.  And it turns out that the answer to their particular question is elusive. They were on the right track, but hadn’t arrived at the right …

Guest Post: An Invasive Species and An Education on An Ever-Changing Lake

by Julia Buskirk – In 2015, Petra Wakker began her college experience alongside Lake Mendota. She was no stranger to this waterway—before walking alongside the lake on her way to classes at UW-Madison, Wakker had already been working at the Center for Limnology for two years. “I don’t remember a time when I didn’t want …

Too Hot? Too Cold? Just Right? Lakes Sharing the Same Climate Can Be Worlds Apart for Invasive Species

In the Upper Midwest, the water temperature in a lake may be as different from the lake next door as one at the opposite end of the state. While this may save Midwesterners a long drive “up north” to find a lake cool enough to beat the summer heat, it also has important implications when …

Water We Talking About? Why So Many Seashells By the Seashore?

Happy Friday! We’re back with Water We Talking About – a series where kids send us freshwater-related questions and we track down freshwater-related scientists to answer them. This week, Johnny from Madison nearly stumped us! The Question: Why are there so many shells on the beaches in Florida, but hardly any on the beaches in …

Summer Intern Hopes Her Virtual Work Leads to Real-Life Connections to Wisconsin Lakes

Although Cassie Gauthier never got to visit Trout Lake Station and had to do all of her work from her parent’s house this summer, she still managed to share so much of what we do with a broader audience. We can’t thank her enough and hope you’ll read this her excellent farewell to Trout Lake. …

Study Finds That, In Wisconsin, Eating Local Often Involves a Rod and Reel

Call it the “lake-to-table” movement. A new study in the journal Fisheries looked at the fish-harvesting habits of the million-plus anglers who annually fish Wisconsin lakes. What they found is that, armed with little more than a rod and reel, Wisconsin anglers are really good at bringing home the bacon – or, rather, fillet. Federal …

In Praise of Plants: Researchers Talk About Lessons Learned from Decade-Long Survey on Wisconsin Lakes

by Cassie Gauthier – When you think of a beautiful natural area, what do you imagine? Maybe you think of a lake at the top of a mountain with clear water and tall pine trees creating beautiful green reflections along the shoreline. Or maybe a desert with lizards scurrying around in the hot sun under …