University of Wisconsin–Madison

Tag: Lake Mendota

Be Careful on Frozen Lakes – Especially During “Shoulder Season”

Yesterday evening as sunset was casting a rosy pink band of light across the frozen surface of Lake Monona near Olbrich Park, two people skated across its newly frozen surface. This morning, a semi-frozen Lake Mendota offered flocks of Canada geese, mallards and mergansers rippling open waters to swim in punctuated by long stretches of …

Learn Your Lakes! Introducing a Mobile Scavenger Hunt for Our LTER Study Sites

We get it – ice fishing (or even ice boating) isn’t for everyone. If this current polar vortex has you staying warm indoors, have we got a cool new thing for you! Now you can visit (and learn about) our lakes year-round from the comfort of your own smartphone screen. (And, once spring arrives, you …

Lake Loop: Bacteria in Lake Mendota Repeat A Cycle of Evolution Year After Year

Like Bill Murray in the movie Groundhog Day, bacteria species in a Wisconsin lake are in a kind of endless loop that they can’t seem to shake. Except in this case, it’s more like Groundhog Year. According to a new study in Nature Microbiology, researchers found that through the course of a year, most individual …

Unthreading the Mussel Mystery: Part 3

We’re back with CFL postdoc Tyler Butts and his team as they explore how invasive species interact with eutrophic lakes. As you may have noticed, they are a dedicated crew! by Madelyn Anderson – When I first met undergraduate invasive species technician Joey Munoz, he had a pile of live zebra mussels in front of him …

Unthreading the Mussel Mystery: Part 2

by Madelyn Anderson – Our last post introduced a collaborative project here at Haler Lab that is focusing on an invasive species called the zebra mussel. Led by Tyler Butts, the project is taking place both out on the waters of Lake Mendota and in the lab near its shores as researchers work to understand …

Unthreading the Mussel Mystery: Part 1

This is first post in a series exploring a CFL project that hopes to shed new light on a familiar invasive species. by Madelyn Anderson – “D” shaped shells, light and dark stripes, sticky byssal threads. These are all characteristics of zebra mussels, an invasive aquatic species. Only around an inch long, these little creatures …

On Our Dock: High-Water Happenings at Hasler Lab

From broken boards to algal blooms, this summer’s climate has brought new adventures for Hasler Lab’s beloved boat slip. Our summer scicomm intern has the report! by Madelyn Anderson – The dock at Hasler Lab has seen many things: hungry swallows, roaring waves, scientists sampling. This summer, changing seasons and climate are adding to that …

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 …

What a Difference a Day Makes: Lake Mendota Goes From Blue-Green to Crystal Clear

by Anna Mueller – I showed up at the Center for Limnology’s Hasler Lab a few hours after the sun had risen and it was already getting hot. I was sweaty from biking to work and could feel the sun burning against my hair. Like any other day, I walked around the squat CFL building …

Hasler Lab Open House This Friday, June 21!

Calling all lake lovers! (Or wetland enthusiasts, river runners, pond explorers, etc.) This Friday, June 21st, you’re invited to Hasler Lab’s Annual Open House. Each summer we pick a Friday afternoon to open the doors to our lab so that anyone in town can come learn about the world-class research going on right here in …