Ongoing Research at Trout Lake

There are many reseach projects at Trout Lake from Long Term Ecological to student summer projects. A few of them are highlighted in the Research Overview . Other projects include:

Dr. Carl Watras, WDNR, Research scientist: Limnological Investigations of Mercury and Acid Rain. Biogeochemical studies of acid rain and mercury began at the Trout Lake Station (TLS) in the early 1980s, focusing initially on a whole lake experiment in Little Rock Lake (LRL). LRL is a small (0.2 km2) precipitation-dominated, mesotrophic seepage lake situated in an undisturbed forested watershed about 5 km from TLS. In 1984, the lake was separated into two basins by stretching a flexible barrier across a narrows. One basin was gradually acidified from pH 6.1 to 4.7 by mixing H2SO4 into surface waters over a six-year period. The other basin of the lake served as an untreated reference. In 1991, experimental acidification ceased and the treatment basin was allowed to recover naturally. Biogeochemical changes in the lake were noted at each stage of the acidification and recovery; and these observations served as the basis for more focused studies to elucidate biogeochemical and ecological mechanisms. One notable observation was a marked change in the mercury cycle. During acidification, concentrations of highly toxic methylmercury (meHg) in water, phytoplankton, zooplankton, and fish increased significantly – and then returned to background levels during recovery. These observations fostered several intensive studies of the lacustrine mercury cycle in LRL and surrounding lakes that continue today.

Dr. Jeff Baylis , UW-Madison, Professor Emeritus, Dept of Zoology Dr. Dan Wiegmann , Bowling Green University, Associate Professor, Biological Science

Breeding population study of smallmouth bass.

Our research is a total breeding population study of smallmouth bass (Micropterus dolomieui) in Pallette Lake , Wi . During the spring breeding season, we locate each and every smallmouth bass nest in Pallette Lake , capture and tag the breeding male, and follow the fate of the nest throughout the breeding season. We have been doing this since 1994 at Pallette, and have extensive breeding histories on individual adult males and on individual, reused nest sites. In 1999 we obtained DNA samples from every breeding male and every nest, and we are now tracking the offspring from those nests as they recruit into the adult breeding population. Thus, this is an entire population study of reproductive success, designed to test the “Alternating Life History” we proposed in Baylis, Wiegmann and Hoff (1993).

Along with the long term projects we have undergrads, grad students, post doc and visitng faculty conducting research at the station. These include but are not limited to:

Dr. John Havel: Missouri State University : The primary purpose of this sabbatical visit to Trout Lake Station is to devote full time to research on the ecology of invasive species in lakes. I am particularly interested in exploring the distribution and impacts of the Chinese mystery snail (Bellamya chinensis, CMS). CMS has a spotty distribution in the US and is now widespread and abundant in lakes in Wisconsin . We know little about how this exotic snail interacts with native species and how it may impact the lake ecosystems. During late summer 2009, I plan to do within-lake surveys in several lakes, conduct a small-scale predation experiment (with crayfish and snails), and prepare for a field experiment to be conducted in 2010.

Dr. Noah Lottig: Noah Lottig is a Postdoctoral Research Associate and Site Manager with the North Temperate Lakes Long Term Ecological Research Program. His primary research interests focus around ecosystem ecology and biogeochemistry. He is particularly interested in understanding how suites of embedded aquatic ecosystems influence regional carbon dynamics.

Gretchen Hansen : I am researching the effects of the invasive rusty crayfish on northern Wisconsin lakes,and whether those effects are reversible. Specific focus areas include crayfish population dynamics, fish growth and population dynamics,predator-prey dynamics, macroinvertebrate community ecology, and the interaction between water levels and invasive species in shaping lake ecosystems.

Sara Paver: My research investigates the potential for phytoplankton populations to structure bacterial community composition.

Steve Powers :I study nutrient cycling in aquatic ecosystems. I have research projects related to: 1) nitrate uptake in Northern Wisconsin wetland streams; 2) hydrologic and chemical changes in a wetland subjected to dam removal in 2008; and 3) phosphorus dynamics in rivers with differences in lake and cropland composition within the basin.

Greg Brown: As part of a 4-year grant funded through the National Science Foundation, we will be interviewing boaters as they enter and leave area lakes to determine their practices as it pertains to the spread of invasive species between bodies of water. We will also solicit their participation in online data collection that will allow us to collect similar information from boaters over a multi-year period. The results of this study will be used to inform policy options regarding the spread of invasive species.

Alexander Latzka: I will be working on the Boieconomics of Invasives Species project as Jake Vander Zanden's grad student

Dr. Tom Rooney: Our research group is conducting a long-term ecological restoration experiment. Specifically, we are removing garlic mustard from a 30 acre patch of forest and monitoring vegetation recovery.

Erin Vennie- Vollrath: As part of a natural-human sciences project funded by the NSF, we are investigating the interplay between boating activity in the Northern Highland Lake District and the spread of invasive species throughout the region. We will be conducting research relating to the ecology of aquatic invasive species in the Vilas and Oneida County region of northern Wisconsin. Our activities will include broad field surveys aimed at describing the distribution of several different aquatic invasive species in the region and, if time allows, experimental studies of invasive species survival during simulated boat transport.

Jordan Read and Jereme Gaeta : Crystal Lake Mixing Project : Rainbow smelt are an invasive fish species that was first detected in the Laurentian Great Lakes in the 1920’s and have since spread to numerous inland lakes. As of 2005, rainbow smelt have invaded 24 inland Wisconsin lakes and have the potential to spread to many more. In Wisconsin’s Northern Highland Lake District, rainbow smelt have been associated with several negative impacts on lake food webs. For instance, rainbow smelt have been associated with shifts in zooplankton community structure, reductions in yellow perch densities, extirpation of ciscoes, and walleye recruitment failure.

We are performing a whole-lake thermal manipulation to eradicate rainbow smelt in Crystal Lake, Vilas County. Adult rainbow smelt require cooler waters than most native fishes and, as a result, occupy the deeper, colder parts of the lake. By experimentally mixing Crystal Lake throughout the summer via common bubblers and experimental gradual entrainment lake inverters (GELIs), we will warm deeper areas of the lake and eliminate the cold-water habitat required by adult rainbow smelt. As a result of the manipulation, we expect adult rainbow smelt to be thermally stressed to the point of starvation, causing mortality. However, we do not expect the manipulation to have significant negative impacts on native yellow perch or walleye in Crystal Lake due to their warmer water temperature tolerances. If our experiment is successful, this technique has the potential to be used as a management tool throughout the region to eradicate this detrimental species.

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Ongoing Research at Trout Lake