University of Wisconsin–Madison

Year: 2022

From the Golden Gate to Trout Lake: Meet Christina, Our New Summer #SciComm Intern

by Christina Weatherford – I’ll admit, I was hesitant to accept the offer of being the communications intern on station this summer. It was daunting, flying from San Francisco to a tiny airport in northern Wisconsin – heading to a place I’d never been before with people I’d never met. Leaving behind all my friends …

The High Cost of Hydropower: Study Records Big Impacts from Brazil’s Belo Monte “Mega Dam”

The Belo Monte Dam, located in the Amazon Rainforest on Brazil’s Xingu River, is one of the largest hydroelectric facilities in the world. It is also likely the most studied, thanks to an ambitious research effort carried out by a global team of scientists.   As part of a long-term monitoring program funded by Norte Energia, …

Explore Our Community’s Smaller Water Bodies at “Pond Exploration Days”

Anyone who lives in the Madison metropolitan area is familiar with Lake Mendota and Lake Monona, the two large bodies of water that frame the city skyline. But there are more modest freshwater systems that also define our landscape – the ponds scattered throughout urban parks and suburban neighborhoods.  While Lake Mendota is often described …

Resistance is (Sometimes) Futile: Study Says That, In Many Lakes, It’s Time to Accept Change and Plan for the Future of Fishing

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – by Adam Hinterthuer As lakes across the upper Midwest warm, cool-water species of fish are finding it harder to thrive. In Wisconsin, that trend is especially noticeable in struggling walleye populations. Walleye are important to many Indigenous communities, a top target in the state’s sport fishery, and a popular item on …

Grace Wilkinson Named Early Career Fellow by Ecological Society of America

Center for Limnology assistant professor, Grace Wilkinson, has been elected an “early career fellow” by the Ecological Society of America (ESA). Wilkinson joins eight other ecologists from around the country in the prestigious fellowship program for a five-year term. The ESA’s fellowship program recognizes members’ contributions to ecological research and discovery, communication, education and pedagogy, …

Focus Groups Reveal Disparate Reactions to Regulation As Fisheries Managers Angle for “Optimum Outcomes”

Up and down the New Jersey shore each summer, charter fishing boats and larger “party boats” entice optimistic anglers to head out to sea in search of bottom-dwelling species like summer flounder, black sea bass, scup and tautog.  A charter boat captain hires out their small boat to groups of up to six people for …

Beneath the Surface, Long-Term Lake Monitoring Reveals the Drama of a Food Web in Flux

Seen from shore, it doesn’t look like a lot is going on in Trout Lake in northern Wisconsin. Aside from windy days that shove waves against its mostly wooded shoreline, the lake presents, more often than not, a smooth, picturesque surface of crystal-clear water. But, peer beneath the surface or, more accurately, dig through decades’ …

Spend Your Summer Doing Freshwater Research, Art, Science Communication (Or All Three)!

Attention undergrads! It’s still February and there’s an ice storm in the forecast, which means it’s a great time to start thinking about how you’ll spend your summer. If a few months up in Wisconsin’s beautiful Northwoods at our research station on Trout Lake sounds good to you, or if you would rather stay here …

Help Keep Our Freshwater Fresh! Salt Smarter, Not Harder.

Yesterday, I rounded the corner of the block in my neighborhood and immediately pulled my dog off the sidewalk. Spread out before us was a carpet of chalky white salt crystals stretching across nearly a dozen square panels of concrete. Why was it there? I’m not sure. We’ve had alarmingly little precipitation this year and …