by Nadja Neumann, Leibniz Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries Many of the world’s well-known clear lakes are deteriorating at an alarming rate: at the shore, where people want to play and swim, the …
Global Change & Long-Term Ecology
The Curious Link Between Lake Ice, Thanksgiving and Flu Season
It’s November 14th and some lakes are already making ice in these frigid temperatures here in Madison. With Thanksgiving still yet to arrive, it definitely feels early for a freeze and that made us wonder …
What’s Behind This Extended Phase of Crazy-Clear Water in Lake Mendota?
Last Friday, Center for Limnology lab technician, Petra Wakker, headed out to the middle of Lake Mendota to collect some routine data on conditions in the lake. As she unwound the rope holding limnology’s oldest …
Local adaptation can sustain walleye fisheries in the face of habitat loss
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE — Recent research by a team of scientists reveals that walleye decline in Mille Lacs is linked to loss of habitat and indicates that by adapting harvest policies to account for changing …
Guest Post: Madison’s Lakes are Thawed for Spring
It’s no joke- the April Fool’s Day view in Madison was one of open water, retreating ice and a few brave American coots and other waterfowl already taking advantage. That’s right, our “ice-on” season is …
Speaking for the Trees: Study Says Canopy Cover Crucial to the Future of Our Cities
MADISON – The shade of a single tree can provide welcome relief from the hot summer sun. But when that single tree is part of a small forest, it creates a profound cooling effect. According …
Can UW Researcher and Freshwater Zooplankton “Make Our Planet Great Again?”
by Kelly April Tyrrell – Plankton, says the University of Wisconsin–Madison’s Carol E. Lee, are cows of the sea. These tiny marine organisms eat algae and in turn, fish eat the plankton. If plankton become …
Promising New Tool for Ice Safety – Sensors Used to Study Soil
Every winter, as lakes and rivers freeze over in the colder reaches of the Northern Hemisphere and again when they thaw in the spring, anglers and skaters and snowmobilers all start asking the same question …
Reddit Competes to Visualize Madison’s Prized Lake Mendota Ice Data
by Eric Hamilton, University Communications – For 166 years, observers from the University of Wisconsin–Madison and the Wisconsin State Climatology Office have recorded a central aspect of life in the city — the dates when …
Want to Reduce Road Salt Impacts on Ecosystems and Infrastructure? Just Add Water.
The above picture shows CFL assistant professor Hilary Dugan and a giant pile of rock salt. It is so much salt. How much? Well, this particular pile belongs to the Jefferson County Highway Department and …