Category: Uncategorized

Top 5 Reasons to Give to the Center for Limnology on Day of the Badger

Happy Day of the Badger! UW–Madison is spending 1848 minutes commemorating the date it was founded and there has never been a better time to support the Center for Limnology. Here’s why you should click here to give!  1. Your Gift Counts Twice! Thanks to some generous anonymous donors, the first $7,500 we raise will …

Salting The Seasons

The following is an excerpt from an excellent article on Madison-based science writer, Erik Ness’ website ‘The Lemonadist.’ The full article is available here.  3/12/24 – by Erik Ness “I think about Ice Nine on a regular basis.” Coming in the middle of a conversation about salt pollution, this surprising detour into literary fiction by …

Missed Connections: Walleye Struggle with Changes to the Timing of Spring Thaw

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 2/26/24 – Walleye are one of the most sought-after species in freshwater sport fishing, a delicacy on Midwestern menus and a critically important part of the culture of many Indigenous communities.  They are also struggling to survive in the warming waters of the Midwestern U.S. and Canada.  According to a new study …

Letter to the Editor: No, Madison’s Lakes Aren’t “Dead.”

The following is the Center for Limnology’s response (published Sunday, February 18) to a disheartening letter to the editor of the Wisconsin State Journal that proclaimed our lakes “dead” and declared it was time to give up on them. Needless to say, we did not agree!  Adam Hinterthuer, Grace Wilkinson and Hilary Dugan 2/18/24 – The recent letter …

Researchers Identify Five “Phases of Recovery” for a Nutrient Polluted Lake

by Adam Hinterthuer – When it comes to easing a lake’s water quality woes, there’s no such thing as a quick fix. Lakes and reservoirs across the U.S. suffer from problems like excessive algal growth and deep water “dead zones,” both of which are fueled by human development, agriculture and other land use changes sending …

Fieldwork Photo Essay: Restoring a Food Web by Removing Invasive Fish, Adding Native Species

Trout Lake Station summer science communication intern, Maddie Gamble, spent time with the station’s pelagic food web crew. She put together this photo essay about their work. All words and pictures: Maddie Gamble (NOTE: All pictures show IRB-certified field technicians and researchers)

Scientists Map Methane in World’s Rivers and Streams, Find Surprising Sources and Human Impacts on Emissions

Freshwater ecosystems account for half of global emissions of methane, a potent greenhouse gas that contributes to global warming. Rivers and streams, especially, are thought to emit a substantial amount of that methane but the rates and patterns of these emissions at global scales remain largely undocumented. Now, thanks to an international effort to better …

Monitoring Manoomin: A Collaborative Study on Wild Rice Lake

When you think of science what comes to mind? Is it data or measurements? Research? What about people? Science is so much more than research and numbers–it’s about people and places, too. Our wild rice project here on station is a testimony to that.

Fieldwork on a Flooded Fish Lake

by Anna Mueller – Located just east of Sauk City, about 30 min northwest of Madison, Fish Lake is a bizarre and interesting place. Although it has experienced flooding since the ‘80s, in the past 15 years it has become permanently flooded. In the 2000s, houses were evacuated, and the entire road is now underwater, …

Fieldwork Photo Essay: Long-Term Ecological Research on Wisconsin Lakes

Trout Lake Station summer science communication intern, Maddie Gamble, spent time with the station’s long-term ecological research field crew. She put together this photo essay about their work. All words and pictures: Maddie Gamble