Lakes

Aggressive aquatic species invading Great Lakes

Foreign species, such as zebra mussels and carp, are invading the Great Lakes and changing the ecology of this vital ecosystem. A study from McMaster University published in the March issue of the Journal of Great Lakes Research suggests that for the round goby, a recently introduced fish species, their ability to wrest territory from native fish plays a key role in their dominance of the Great L...

Study shows eutrophic lakes may not recover for a millennium

Although it has taken just 60 years for humans to put many freshwater lakes on the eutrophication fast track, a new study shows their recovery may take a thousand years under the best of circumstances. Writing in today's (June 13) online edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), University of Wisconsin-Madison limnologist Stephen R. Carpenter reported results...

Disappearing arctic lakes linked to climate change

Continued arctic warming may be causing a decrease in the number and size of Arctic lakes. The issue is the subject of a paper published in the June 3 issue of the journal "Science." The paper, titled, "Disappearing Arctic Lakes" is the result of a comparison of satellite data taken of Siberia in the early 1970s to data from 1997-2004. Researchers, including Larry Hinzman with the Water and Envir...

Leading lampreys to slaughter: Pheromone for scourge of Great Lakes identified

For the rats of Hamelin, it was the Pied Piper's tune. For the destructive sea lamprey of the Great Lakes, it's a chemical attractant, or pheromone, released by lamprey larvae living in streambeds. Following the pheromone trail, adults are drawn to streams favorable for spawning. Researchers have long wanted to identify the pheromone so it could be synthesized and used to control the sea lamprey,...

Study shows hope for ridding lakes of clawed invader

The rusty crayfish - a voracious, bullying exotic that has visited ecological havoc on numerous Wisconsin lakes - may have finally met its match. Since its introduction to Wisconsin waters sometime in the 1950s, the crayfish has spread to thousands of lakes and streams, clear cutting the underwater forests that are critical fish habitat, evicting the native crayfish from one body of water...

Pollen proves beneficial for northern lakes

Mention the word pollen to most people and it triggers thoughts of their battle against allergic reactions. However, a University of Alberta researcher has found an important spin-off for this fine yellow dust-like powder. Mark Graham, a PhD student from the Department of Biological Sciences at the U of A, has shown for the first time the benefits of pollen on boreal lakes. Rich in nutri...

Siberian lakes burp 'time-bomb' greenhouse gas

Frozen bubbles in Siberian lakes are releasing methane, a greenhouse gas, at rates that appear to be "... five times higher than previously estimated" and acting as a positive feedback to climate warming, said Katey Walter, in a paper published today in the journal Nature. Walter's project is the first time this type of bubbling has been accurately quantified. "We realized that our previou...

National Academies advisory: Invasive aquatic species in the Great Lakes

On May 7, a National Research Council committee will hold a meeting in Toronto to gather information on trade in the Great Lakes region and ways to eliminate further introductions of nonindigenous aquatic species into the lakes by vessels traveling the St. Lawrence Seaway. The committee's final report will comment on the strengths and weaknesses of various options and recommend those that seem mo...