Director's Notes Wisconsin Limnology Has Grown and Changed This Year. We Doubled the Number of Students and Postdoctoral Train
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Number 18 Fall 2010 Director’s Notes practical problem‐solving thrive here. This newsletter covers a selection of the highlights Wisconsin Limnology has from 2010. grown and changed this year. We doubled the Newsletters by Email? number of students and If you would like to receive your newsletter by postdoctoral trainees. email, please send a note to Denise Karns The Hasler Laboratory is ([email protected]). chock‐full of young researchers. More CFL in the News seasoned researchers are Occasionally there is a day when a CFL scientist Steve Carpenter also doing pretty well. is not in the news, but those days are rare. This John Magnuson’s work year’s highlights include a Science Profile of on adapting to climate change is highly visible in Reinette Biggs, a feature on the CFL fleet Wisconsin. 2010 was the warmest year in featuring Dave Harring, multiple discoveries history for Lake Superior, causing the media about aquatic invasive species from Jake Vander spotlight to shine on Jim Kitchell’s studies of Zanden, an interview with Emily Stanley about how temperature affects lamprey predation on the toxic mud spill in the Danube River, and lake trout. Jake Vander Zanden, Tim Kratz and I extensive coverage of Pete McIntyre’s work on are spinning up a new project to control condition of the world’s rivers. For these and invasive smelt by manipulating lake water many more news items go to ‘CFL in the News’ temperatures. I initiated a new project to on our web page http://limnology.wisc.edu/ create alternative scenarios for the future water resources of the Yahara Watershed for 2060, Emily Stanley working with colleagues from CALS, Engineering Promoted to Full and Zoology. Emily Stanley found that stream Professor restoration does more than improve fish Dr. Emily Stanley, river habitat. In addition it can reduce the levels of ecologist and toxic nitrite in the nitrogen‐rich streams of biogeochemist, was Wisconsin. New faculty member Pete McIntyre promoted to Professor started his Wisconsin career with a bang, in the Department of garnering the cover of Nature for his work on Zoology on the basis of status and trends in the world’s rivers. Emily Stanley her outstanding research record and Clearly folks at CFL are not resting on their teaching ability. Emily leads the North laurels. World‐class research, outstanding Temperate Lakes Long‐Term Ecological training of the next generation of scientists, and Research program, as well as studies of how ecology and fisheries, trophic dynamics, and rivers change after dams are removed. understanding the role of fish in aquatic ecosystems”. Peter McIntyre Joins UW and CFL Pete McIntyre brought great new energy to CFL when he joined us as a faculty member in summer 2010. Pete is rapidly building an excellent team of students and postdocs who work on ecology Peter McIntyre and conservation. He is particularly interested in the ways that fishes Jim Kitchell receives ASLO Redfield award from affect ecosystem nutrient cycling and ASLO President Carlos Duarte productivity. Pete’s routine teaching assignment will include Ecology of Fishes. This year he is offering a well‐subscribed graduate In October, more than 150 people celebrated seminar on Global Freshwater Aquaculture and Jim’s retirement at a reception on campus. Fisheries. Pete brings many new strengths to Speakers included L&S Dean Gary Sandefur, the CFL faculty, and we are delighted that he Zoology chairman Jeff Hardin, Sea Grant has joined us. Director Anders Andren, and CFL faculty who served with Jim. Jim Kitchell to Emeritus Jim Kitchell moved from the regular faculty to emeritus status in August 2010. In June, more than 60 people, including many of Jim’s former students, celebrated his retirement with a dinner party and light roasting at the ASLO meeting in Santa Fe. At that meeting, Jim received the Alfred C. Redfield award for Dean Gary Sandefur presents Jim Kitchell with certificates of recognition from both the UW- Madison and State of Wisconsin. Jim maintains an active research program Jim Kitchell addresses the group in supported by several current grants. Since his Santa Fe. retirement he has been in the lab most days, except when he is traveling for research. Thus lifetime achievement. The citation reads “For Jim is following in the footsteps of all previous field‐changing contributions in the areas of fish leaders of Wisconsin limnology by maintaining a Limnology News, Volume 18, Fall 2010 2 high level of professional activity in emeritus speakers just five status. Nonetheless, Jim’s retirement has been minutes to a lot of fun for those who attended the present the celebrations. Many folks at CFL think we should essential points “retire” Jim every year as a reason for a great of their research. party. As a result, all attendees learned something about a great variety of topics. Long breaks for coffee and meals, and Tim Kratz greets an evening social, nd participants of the 2 gave time for Science in the Northwoods Friends and family gather at the Pyle Center researchers to Conference. for Jim Kitchell’s retirement party. discuss common interests in depth. Kratz to serve as NSF Rotator Science in the Northern Highlands is robust and Tim Kratz, Director of the Trout Lake Station, diverse, embracing topics such as long term has accepted a position as a rotating Program limnology, shoreland restoration, hardwood Officer in the Ecosystems Science Cluster at the forests, grouse, sea lampreys, invasive species, National Science Foundation. His one‐to‐two remote sensing and climate change, and others. year term starts in mid‐November. Tim says In addition, networks are thriving among citizen “I’m looking forward to serving the ecological volunteers and global observatories. community and helping to shape the future of ecosystem science, while at the same time The meeting was not strictly limited to getting to see a wide diversity of new ideas traditional scientific displays of data charts and from some of the top minds in the field.” Kratz graphs. Six artists who participated in LTEArts will stay involved, albeit at a distance, in his last May – a project supported by the National ongoing projects such as LTER, GLEON and the Crystal Lake mixing experiment while at NSF. Science in the Northwoods The second Science in the Northwoods meeting was held September 30‐October 1 at Camp Manito‐wish, Boulder Junction, Wisconsin. Chaired by Trout Lake Station Director Tim Kratz, the event brought together 125 people from 23 organizations, schools and agencies, among them students, scientists, educators, managers, artists and others who wanted to Science in the Northwoods participants continue learn more about the research activities taking the discussions during a break. place in the Northern Highlands. Science Foundation to link science with the The format, called “scientific speed dating” by humanities – had their work on display during co‐organizer Jen Hauxwell of WDNR, allowed the meeting. Four were on‐hand to talk about Limnology News, Volume 18, Fall 2010 3 their works of art, and the Friday morning session began with John Bates reading his poem What jumps out, say McIntyre and Vörösmarty, about spring peepers. is that rivers in different parts of the world are subject to similar types of stresses, such things As notable as the diversity of research as agricultural intensification, industrial presented was the common thread among the development, river habitat modification and participants: a curiosity about the world around other factors. Compounding the problem is that us and a strong desire to understand the past, some of the negative influences on rivers arrive present, and future of this special place we call in indirect ways. Mercury pollution, for the Northwoods. example, is a byproduct of electricity generation at coal‐fired power plants and pollutes surface World’s Rivers in Crisis water via the atmosphere. (excerpted from the original article by Terry Devitt published in UW News) "What made our jaws drop is that some of the The world's rivers are in crisis, according to a highest threat levels in the world are in the new study by researchers from the UW‐ United States and Europe," says McIntyre. Madison Center for Limnology and the City "Americans tend to think water pollution College of New York (CCNY) that was published problems are pretty well under control, but we in the Sept. 30, 2010 issue of the scientific still face enormous challenges." journal Nature. The study, led by UW‐Madison limnologist and professor of zoology Peter The hard lessons learned by the developed McIntyre and CCNY modeler Charles world, says McIntyre, can help governments Vörösmarty, combines, for the first time, indices and planners in other parts of the world avoid of water security and biodiversity for all of the making the same mistakes and experiment with world's rivers, many of which are severely new strategies for promoting water security degraded due to issues of pollution, water and protecting biodiversity. Instead of investing diversion and introduced species. billions of dollars in expensive remediation technologies, strategies such as protecting Examining the influence of numerous types of watersheds, for example, can reduce the costs threats to water quality and aquatic life across of drinking water treatment, preserve all of the world's river systems, the study is the floodplains for flood protection and enhance first to explicitly assess both human water rural livelihoods. security and biodiversity in parallel. Fresh water is widely regarded as the world's most essential Getting Set for Whole Lake Mixing 2011 natural resource, underpinning human life and A team of researchers led by Jake Vander economic development as well as the existence Zanden from the UW Center for Limnology, are of countless organisms ranging from gearing up for a new whole‐lake manipulation microscopic life to fish, amphibians, birds and starting in summer of 2011.