University of Wisconsin–Madison

Tag: bluegreen algae

Water We Talking About? Is It Safe to Swim?

Happy Friday! We are 9finally) back with Water We Talking About – a series where kids send us freshwater-related questions and we track down real-life scientists to answer them. This week, brothers Will and Tom sent in a whole bunch of questions. But one, in particular, stood out because, as anyone living near a southern …

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 plant. The plant’s rapid spread has fascinated biologists and frustrated homeowners, who have seen it out-compete native plants, change freshwater …

Florida’s Red Tide Shows Algae Blooms Aren’t Just a Wisconsin Problem

While we were knee-deep in stories about algae problems in Wisconsin’s lakes this summer, a serious outbreak of blooms has been unfolding in Florida where a massive “red tide” is swirling in the waters off both its Atlantic and Gulf coasts. Here in Wisconsin, our potentially toxic bluegreen blooms are caused by cyanobacteria like Microcystis aeruginosa, anabeana and …