Most people think of green, algae-filled waters when talking about southern Wisconsin lakes. And, sure, these highly productive bodies are full of nutrients that run off from the landscape and feed huge algae blooms every …
water clarity
Is Lake Monona A Sign That Lake Mendota’s Clear Water Phase Is On Its Way?
Earlier this week, Center for Limnology director, Jake Vander Zanden, noted a startling difference in Madison’s two largest lakes, Mendota and Monona. The waters of Lake Monona, near where he lives, were crystal clear, while …
Blog Redux: Secchi Disk Celebrates 150 Years of Clarity
Tomorrow will mark the one hundred and fifty-second birthday of the Secchi disk. We dusted off this post from two years ago to tell you all about our favorite scientific instrument. Enjoy! (Originally published April …
Video: Up-Close Look at Lake Mendota Water Clarity
On June 4th, after a week of clear-water conditions in Lake Mendota, some of us here at Hasler Lab decided that our window for swimming in clear water was closing. So we decided to take …
Monitor Mendota: Water Clarity, Daphnia on the Rebound
Last week on this blog, we wondered if Lake Mendota’s clear water phase was a thing of the past. You see, last year, the algae-eating native zooplankton, daphnia pulicaria were so diminished by predation from the …
Fish Fry Day: Daphnia Update & Perch (H2O) Purifiers?
Lake Monona is crystal clear, while Mendota stays murky and, on Wednesday, we asked you to help us monitor Lake Mendota as we wait to see if the native zooplankton, daphnia pulicaria, can rally and …
CFL’s Crowd-Sourced Secchi Slideshow: Happy Earth Day!
We asked, and you answered! It’s Earth Day and we’re continuing our shout out to the inventor of limnology’s most ubiquitous instrument. (Full captions to photos are posted below) Click on images above for slideshow. …