by Emily Hilts When I worked at Trout Lake Station, I usually went running after a day in the field and then jumped in the lake – not only to cool off but to get clean. After all, Trout Lake is gorgeously clear, and the stink of the day washed right off. Showers were reserved for …
Last week I took advantage of the clear water conditions to observe fish in their natural habitat. While it was an awesome experience, I was left wondering: “Why does the water start off clear and get exponentially scummier over the summer?” At first glance, the question doesn’t seem complicated. Algae don’t thrive in cold conditions, …
by Emily Hilts While walking along the lakeshore to my first day of work, I spotted a smallmouth bass hanging out in the rocky shallows of Lake Mendota. After watching for a minute, it finally struck me … the water was clear. I could see the bottom! So much for the scummy cesspool I’d imagined. …
Once again, the batter is coming out in the kitchens of restaurants across Wisconsin and folks are preparing to cap off another work week with the time-honored ritual of eating fried fish – happy Fish Fry Day everyone! Today’s special: black crappie. As any angler knows, May and June are good months for crappie fishing …
This summer, UW–Madison undergrad, Emily Hilts, will be exploring Lake Mendota and the other Yahara lakes and writing a running diary of sorts detailing what she finds. Stay tuned for more great posts from her about the history and ecology of the lake, as well as closer looks at the animals and plants that call …
A trip out sampling on Lake Mendota this morning yielded a robust catch of the zooplankton (tiny animal), Daphnia, a miniscule, yet voracious crustacean that goes to town on phytoplankton (tiny plant) populations that are blooming throughout the upper reaches of the water column. Spring plankton community, Lake Mendota from Center for Limnology on Vimeo. …
UPDATE: Due to the awesome amount of interest this post has generated, we thought we’d share last year’s more in-depth look at the late freeze AND a post on flu season and Lake Wingra to inject a bit more science into the proceedings! For the post you were linked to, read on: This Monday, I …
Last Sunday, CFL director, Steve Carpenter, happened to be out and about with his camera and spotting scope on the Lake Mendota shoreline. Out in the middle of the lake, where the ice edge met the open water, he spied a large gathering of migrating tundra swans. “There were several hundred of them in the …
The view from Hasler Lab on Monday was one of windswept waves crashing into the ice-covered rocks of Lake Mendota’s southern shoreline. Not even a rim of pancake ice to slow their roll. Today the lake is, well, a little calmer. But out in the middle of Madison’s main aquatic feature, the dark blue of …
‘Tis the Season for the Center for Limnology’s annual newsletter. For a good look at some of the things we got up to this year, as well as faculty milestones, alumni news and grad student profiles, you can find a PDF of the 2012 newsletter (as well as copies of past newsletters) right here. If …