by Corinna Gries For hundreds of years people have collected data on lakes. Ice on and ice off dates are probably the oldest data, but water temperature, water clarity, animal and plant species and abundance have also been recorded for a long time. Scientists usually collect data to answer a specific question for which they …
Last fall, as I moved in to a new house, I asked my parents (who are regular patrons of rummage sales) to look for a taxidermied fish. When they scrounged up a musky, with its mouth wide open to reveal pointy teeth, I was ecstatic. My roommates were less enthusiastic – one even claimed to …
“NO WAY!” I yelled as I pulled up a rock from a creek bed, with a huge smile on my face. “Look! It’s a FRESHWATER SPONGE!” Chelsey Blanke, who was watching from the boat, just laughed. She volunteers for the Center for Limnology on Fridays, and has accompanied me for a couple of trips out …
by Aisha Liebenow This last week was one heck of a week for Trout Lake Station. On Monday, we had our curtain removal at Little Rock Lake, reuniting the two halves of the lake and ending thirty-years’ worth of ground-breaking research. It was a huge undertaking, one that couldn’t have been done without all of …
We here at the Center for Limnology don’t like to keep people in the dark. That’s what, every year, we host public open houses at both our lab in Madison and our research station in northern Wisconsin. This year, nearly 500 people turned out to tour our labs, talk with our researchers and get a …
By Emily Hilts This week I had the privilege of returning to Trout Lake Station to help with the annual public open house. Sitting on the dock felt like coming home, and I let out a deep sigh of happiness at the sight of one of my favorite lakes. Why? I guess because Trout just …
By Aisha Liebenow Whether you’ve graduated from high school, have a B.A, or spent several years plugging away at a PhD, I hope your education didn’t stop with your degree. Active learning is so important in keeping your mind at the top of its game, and that’s why I admire the Wisconsin Alumni Association (WAA), and …
Your trusty blog editor is taking an ill-advised road trip to Portland for a wedding this week, so we apologize for the delay in programming. In the last couple of weeks, though, we’ve seen a flurry of great coverage of limnology in the news. Below are some excellent examples: 30 Years of Research Winds Down …
by Emily Hilts So far this summer, I’ve either stayed below the surface of Mendota’s waters or perched on top of the lake in a boat. Which means, of course, that I’ve been missing big pieces of the overall puzzle of this aquatic ecosystem. To fill in some of the gaps, it was time to …
Happy Fish Fry Day! Here in Wisconsin, we’re putting cod, perch, and walleye on the menu and, here at the blog, we’ve got fun facts about native fish. Today’s special: bluegill, three ways. Bluegill aren’t exactly a rare species. In fact, they’re often the first fish kids learn to catch and, as any avid fisherman …