North Temperate Lakes

University of Wisconsin-Madison researchers are conducting a whole-lake mixing experiment on Crystal Lake (Vilas County, WI) to eradicate an invasive fish from the lake. Rainbow smelt invaded Crystal Lake in the early 1980s, and a sharp decline in native yellow perch populations followed shortly thereafter. To specifically target this invasive for removal from the lake, researchers are taking advantage of the smelt's need for cold water habitat in a lake with no other cold water fishes. The Crystal Lake Mixing scientists will experimentally mix the lake to remove this cold water habitat, stressing the rainbow smelt beyond the limits of survival.