Category Archives: Limnology in Action

“Making Merit” in the Mekong Delta

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Aaron Koning collects water samples on Thailand's Yuam River

Aaron Koning collects water samples on Thailand’s Yuam River

Not everyone at the CFL is braving subzero temperatures this winter. Faculty member, Pete McIntyre, is currently working in balmier weather, conducting fieldwork with grad student, Aaron Koning in Thailand, They are looking at fish migrations in the Mekong River and its tributaries.

The Mekong, which flows through parts of China, Myanmar, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam, is a critically important fishery for millions of people, supplying food and commerce. While the main stem of the Mekong is relatively dam free, dams on its tributaries may be cutting off fish spawning habitat and planned future dams could do even more damage. Last night, Pete sent along this dispatch from the field on their run in with a religious custom and its implications for native fish: Continue reading →

Limnology in Action: Like Baking a Cake in a Lake

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Besides the rowboat being pulled across a grid of buoys, the surface of Peter Lake is calm. But, just 5 meters below the surface, a full experiment is under way.

“Annndddd…. There is C-13 spilling out down there!” shouts Grace Wilkinson. Looking into the water doesn’t do any good, the carbon-isotope tracer that Wilkinson and her assistant, Carol Yang, have just released is sitting well down in the middle strata of the lake.

Grace and Carol put the isotope label in the WILCs before they are deployed.

“Basically, we are putting really expensive baking soda in the lake,” explains Wilkinson. Yang laughs, “Like baking a cake in the lake!”

Continue reading →

Trout Lake Station Crew 2012: Not afraid to get their hands dirty, or their shoes wet!

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Trout Lake Station Staff- Summer 2012 Photo: C. Warden

Meet our CFL-Trout Lake Station summer staff team. Summer outreach student, Ali Branscombe is out on the lake through August and will follow this intrepid crew as they conduct research ranging from studying long-term ecological data to finding ways to control the spread of aquatic invasive species. Join her in field adventures through the series Limnology in Action, and feel free to comment or ask questions! Follow Ali, Trout Lake and the Hasler Lab on Facebook and Twitter for more related updates and information.

“Perhaps the truth depends on a walk around the lake.” – Wallace Stevens


Limnology in Action: How to Turn a Lake Blue

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Aquashade in the water will decrease the growth of primary productivity in Ward lake.

Ryan Batt dips a bucket into the lake, and pulls up a quarter-gallon of… Gatorade?

At the surface, Ward Lake is like any small bog: tall trees and sedges are reflected on the dark surface and beaver-gnawed branches stick out at odd angles.  Looking down into the water, the lake doesn’t seem that remarkable. But inside the white gallon bucket, the water is sapphire blue, like jell-o or a sports drink. This summer, Batt is turning a lake blue.

The process that Batt, a UW-Madison graduate in CFL director Steve Carpenter’s lab, is using in his experiment is actually very common. In fact, if you have ever seen a golf course pond, chances are you have seen the effects of adding Aquashade to the water. It is a concentrated liquid formula that is similar to food coloring, or blue dye. It is used in lakes and ponds to block light rays from penetrating deep into the water, therefore reducing photosynthesis. In other words it keeps algae from growing.

 And that is exactly what Batt is hoping to do. Continue reading →

Limnology in Action: Bug Pickin’

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“Alright. Who is ready to get messy?”

Students sift through trays of sediment and plants, picking out aquatic invertebrates

Zach Lawson’s question is greeted with incredible enthusiasm. It is all-hands-on-deck in the wet lab and, today, everyone is sorting bugs.

Ten undergraduate students crowd around two small tables, armed with small plastic sampling bottles and metal tweezers. They meticulously sift through plastic tubs of sand, muck and aquatic plants, looking for any small movements in the water. Suddenly, spotting the slightest flicker, a hand strikes, snatching up a very tiny red worm-like creature. The student yells “I have a diptera!” and Lawson quickly walks over to inspect and label the specimen. The students work for hours, leaving no leaf or rock unturned, and soon the lab is filled with bottles of invertebrates. Continue reading →

Limnology In Action: Gas In The Water, Carbon in the Sky

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All summer long, Trout Lake Station outreach assistant, Ali Branscombe will be bringing you stories from the field. Join Ali as she follows researchers slogging through wetlands, boarding boats, and wrangling fish, bringing you – Limnology in Action.

Crawford hangs the flux chamber over the water.

It is a cold morning with scattered showers and random peeks of sunshine between the dark clouds. Despite this, and a bit of hail, John Crawford and his two undergraduate assistants, Alex Johnson and Nick Jordan, work quickly to set up their equipment next to the Trout River, pulling out trash bags and plastic to cover their machines.

“Its funny, that for all the work we do in the water, how much of our equipment can’t get wet,” laughs Crawford as he hangs up a clear plastic chamber over the river’s edge, while Jordan and Johnson unpack several coolers filled with vials, tubes and measuring equipment. Within minutes their little spot by the water’s edge has been turned into a makeshift outdoor office, complete with a laptop and several processing machines. The clouds are dark and moving closer, so they set up plastic bags over as many of the electronics as they can. Continue reading →