by Madelyn Anderson – Fieldwork comes in many forms. Some researchers spend their days wading through Wisconsin’s wetlands, looking for bugs in local rivers, and boating through Lake Mendota, the birthplace of limnology in North America. But other scientists are at work right in your own backyard or neighborhood park. PhD candidate Jessica Briggs is …
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 …
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 …
by Anna Mueller – I have grown up in the Madison lakes – jumping into Mendota and Wingra every summer without a second thought, doing polar plunges late in the fall, fishing with my brother. And, this year, rowing competitively for the Badgers. When I enrolled for my first semester at UW Madison, I chose …
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: A new study is highlighting the outsized impacts that invasive species can have – even on the tiniest residents in an ecosystem. Published this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the report maps out how two invasive species affected the microbial community of one Wisconsin lake and led …
A few weeks ago, a letter arrived in our mailbox here at Hasler Lab from a reader of this blog. It was … not the most positive message. In fact, it stopped just short of “mean Tweet” territory. Here, in its entirety, is the letter: It seems to me that your blog is no different …
As Earth’s average temperature rises, climate change impacts are being felt across the globe. Hurricanes and wildfires are bigger and more destructive. Extreme rain events are more common. Droughts last longer. But, surprisingly, one big problem with a climate connection isn’t getting universally worse. According to a scientific study published online October 5th in Frontiers …
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 …
This weekend, my family and I went on a drive. These days, any chance to leave the house while still practicing safe social distancing feels like a blessing and this drive felt especially so. There wasn’t a cloud in the sky and hints of the lush, green landscape Wisconsin will soon become were everywhere – …
The health of U.S. waters are often steered in whichever way the political winds are blowing. In 2015, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, under leadership appointed by the Obama administration, expanded the definition of what waterways deserve federal protections, bringing many more wetlands and smaller waterways into the fold. Yesterday, the Trump administration delivered on …