When the tiny and invasive spiny water flea began appearing in University of Wisconsin–Madison researchers’ nets in 2009, scientists began to wonder how Lake Mendota, one of the most-studied lakes in the world, went from …
Invasive Species
Undergraduates Dive in to Mats of Milfoil and the Mechanics of Invasion
Dense beds of Eurasian watermilfoil carpet the surface of Hancock Lake, a few miles east of Tomahawk, W.I., where undergraduate researchers Linden Taylor and Brigid Doyle have come to take samples of the invasive aquatic …
Guest Post: Aquatic Invasive Species Threaten Shipwreck Preservation in the Great Lakes
By Ryan Smazal, Wisconsin Historical Society; and Sara Fox, University of Wisconsin-Extension As many might know, the Great Lakes house about a fifth of the freshwater supply for the entire world. A less commonly known …
How an Aquatic Invasion Transformed a Community’s Relationship with a Lake – and Each Other
by Sydney Widell As Dan Benson was enjoying the view of Upper Buckatabon Lake from his dock one morning, he noticed something in the water he’d never seen in the 20 years he’s lived on …
Who Will Invade Next? 5 Species That May Threaten Wisconsin Waters
When zebra mussels were finally found in Lake Mendota in the fall of 2015, most aquatic ecologists in Wisconsin had the same thought – “What took them so long?” These notorious little bivalves were firmly planted …
Learning from Our Mistakes: A Silver-Lining Spin on the Science of Invasive Species
by Jake Walsh There is a fortunate silver-lining to those of us prone to making mistakes – they can be a powerful teaching tool. At a minimum, our mistakes teach us things we shouldn’t be …
Watch: Unbelievable Swarm of Spiny Water Fleas Invade Hasler Lab
Last Friday, my phone started “blowing up” with text messages about some sort of invasion at Hasler Lab and where, exactly, our new Go Pro camera could be found. Perhaps because I’ve recently binged-watched both …
Help Save Wildlife – Donate Zebra Mussels?
Do these cool fall temps have you thinking it’s time to pull in the pier? If so, be prepared to bring a whole lot of zebra mussels onto shore with it. But the Dane County …
Do “Piggyback Rides” Play an Important Role in Invasive Species Dispersal?
by Neil Coughlan and Andy Stevens Late one night, Andy Stevens, then a Center for Limnology graduate student, pulled a minnow trap out of the water off of the Hasler Lab pier in Lake Mendota. …
Trout Lake Research Rewind: Tricking the Turf & Sampling the Surf
by Riley Steinbrenner Tree Skirts? Ever since Dom got stuck between a hand drill and a hard place the first time I ventured out with him and Patrick, this whole “tree skirt” situation had just …