North Temperate Lakes Long-Term Ecological Research
The 2024 Yentsch-Schindler Early Career Award was presented to Dr. Hilary Dugan for her exceptional, balanced contributions to our understanding of salinization of freshwater ecosystems and winter limnology, and for her commitment to scientific mentorship and impact-creation via proactive, open-science translation to resource managers and the public. The award was presented to Dr. Dugan at the 2024 ASLO Summer Meeting in Madison, WI, USA.
The 2024 John H. Martin Award was presented to “Lake metabolism: Relationships with dissolved organic carbon and phosphorus” by Hanson et al. for showing that lakes experience seasonal net heterotrophy, except in cases of high phosphorus and high primary production. The Martin Award was presented to Dr. Paul Hanson (University of Wisconsin-Madison, Center for Limnology) on behalf of the co-authors during the 2024 ASLO Summer Meeting in Madison, WI, USA in June.
New research into under-ice conditions is challenging what limnologists thought they understood about lakes’ winter behavior.
The lakes in the Great Lakes region and around the world don’t freeze over as they did in past centuries. That has serious consequences for people, wildlife, and the environment as a whole.
A concerning discovery in a Wisconsin lake this summer shows how invasive species can damage ecosystems without being discovered for long periods.
A report on more than 40 years of research on Wisconsin lakes is highlighting some of the lessons scientists have learned about aquatic invasive species, including that far more ecosystems are playing host to non-native species than previously thought.
According to a new study of rivers and lakes in Wisconsin, natural foams from these bodies of water contain much higher concentrations of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) than the water below them.
127 years ago, University of Wisconsin biology professor Edward Birge purchased glass models of sea creatures ranging from jellyfish to sea cucumbers from famous German glassblowers Leopold and Rudolph Blaschka, for use in teaching biology.
It’s also why, this year, Laura Monahan arranged for UW–Madison to hire expert glassblower Tim Drier to create similar deep-sea invertebrate models, as the old ones were too delicate and artistically valuable to handle.
Dugan’s scientific journey began in the Arctic, where the rapid transition from winter to summer happens in June. “Nowhere is changing as fast as the Arctic when it comes to losing ice,” she says. In many places in this warming world, winter is the fastest warming season. Wisconsin has lost snowpack and almost a month of lake ice in the last century. Dugan wondered: what happens to ecosystems as they lose ice? “Maybe it’s not important, but we don’t actually know,” she says. “I’m generally fascinated by how humans are changing lakes,” says Dugan.
Walleye, a prized catch for freshwater sportfishing enthusiasts and a staple in Midwestern cuisine, also play a vital role in the cultural traditions of many Indigenous communities. However, according to a new study led by the University of Wisconsin-Madison, walleye populations are now facing challenges due to the increasing temperatures in the waters of the Midwest United States and Canada.