University of Wisconsin-Madison

https://www.seagrant.wisc.edu/news/wisconsin-sport-fish-carry-suite-of-new-viruses/

Negative emotions drive preference for herbicide treatments for aquatic invasive species in Wisconsin lakes

On: February 13, 2024

In: aquatic invasive plants, Biological Invasions, Bret Shaw, Dominique Brossard, Eurasian watermilfoil, fear, herbicide treatments, negative emotions, Richard Heinrich, Theresa Vander Woude, Tim Campbell, University of Wisconsin-Madison

A volunteer looks through a plant rake for invasive species. Monitoring like this is one of the most underrated management actions when invasive species are found in lakes. Image credit: Paul Skawinski

A new study published by University of Wisconsin-Madison researchers is the first to explore what drives lakeshore property owners’ preferences for herbicide treatments of aquatic invasive plants over other management options, even if those treatments may harm native plants and animals. The study found that negative emotions and believing that aquatic invasive species are present in the lake where a property owner lives were the strongest predictors for preferring herbicide treatments. Surprisingly, perceived impacts of aquatic invasive species did not affect preferences for herbicidal treatment of aquatic invasive species.

These results provide an opportunity for natural resource managers to educate lakeshore property owners about alternative methods for managing aquatic invasive plants while still leaving options open for herbicide treatment, if needed. Other management options include manual and mechanical removal as well as simply monitoring, since non-native plants can often co-exist with other native plants in a lake without taking over and becoming a nuisance.

“People can develop negative emotions about a subject either through lived experiences or through communications about the subject,” said Bret Shaw, lead author and a Division of Extension environmental communications specialist and Department of Life Science Communication professor. “Given that the perceived impact of invasive species is not driving preference for using herbicides, it is possible that fear-based aquatic invasive species prevention messages may influence higher risk perceptions that cause property owners to seek herbicidal treatment first. Considering other approaches and messaging strategies, too, may help lake organizations achieve better outcomes with their management efforts.”

Aquatic invasive plants in Wisconsin lakes can negatively impact recreation and property values. Many organizations offer education and outreach programs for boaters and anglers to prevent invasive species spread. However, some lakes already have non-native species that can become invasive, and new introductions can occur despite widespread prevention efforts. While there are many ways to manage aquatic invasive plants, lakeshore property owners and lake associations often seek permits to use chemical herbicides even though herbicides themselves can carry a potential risk of ecological harm to the treated lake, which is why herbicides may not necessarily be an appropriate as a first course of action in some waterbodies.

A diver and kayaker remove Eurasian watermilfoil from Spring Lake in Wisconsin. Image credit: Paul Skawinski

Aquatic invasive species are a concern both globally and in Wisconsin, with the Great Lakes on Wisconsin’s borders and another 15,000 inland lakes within them. While the most problematic invasive species aren’t present in most lakes, where they are located, they can reach high densities that can impede boating, negatively affect fishing and alter the ecological functions of a lake. More than $5 million is spent each year in Wisconsin on aquatic invasive species management. However, even with this annual investment and the negative impacts of aquatic invasive species, very little effort has been spent understanding how waterfront property owners feel and think about invasive species management.

“This research is among the first to understand the opinions and beliefs of waterfront property owners about aquatic invasive species management,” said Tim Campbell, the aquatic invasive species program manager for Wisconsin Sea Grant and co-author of the study. “The results of this research will help us create invasive species management education tools and programs that balance efforts to reduce the unwanted impacts of invasive species while protecting the ecological integrity of our lakes.”

Other co-authors include Dominique Brossard, Professor in the Department of Life Sciences Communication (LSC) as well as recent LSC graduate students, Richard Heinrich (LSC Ph.D. ‘23) and Theresa Vander Woude (LSC and Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies, M.S. ‘21). The full study can be found in the journal Biological Invasions here (https://rdcu.be/dvWb9). Alternatively, email tim.campbell@wisc.edu for a copy.

The post Negative emotions drive preference for herbicide treatments for aquatic invasive species in Wisconsin lakes first appeared on Wisconsin Sea Grant.

https://www.seagrant.wisc.edu/news/negative-emotions-drive-preference-for-herbicide-treatments-for-aquatic-invasive-species-in-wisconsin-lakes/

In: Bret Shaw, Chaterine Christenson, excess nutrients, how people get water news, importance of water for wildlife, Ken Genskow, Michael Cardiff, PFAS, Rural resident perceptions of Wisconsin's Waters, trusted water news sources, University of Wisconsin Water Resources Institutue, University of Wisconsin-Madison, water supply concerns

Wisconsin’s rural residents concerned about water quality

On: December 4, 2023

December 4, 2023
By Marie Zhuikov

A new report published by the University of Wisconsin-Madison found that Wisconsin’s rural residents perceived significant risks to water quality from pesticides, PFAS (per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances) and excess nutrients. They also ranked water as very or extremely important for supporting wildlife and for hunting and fishing, in addition to home uses such as drinking and cleaning.

These findings regarding groundwater and surface water are based on a study by UW-Madison professors, including Michael Cardiff via a research project funded by the University of Wisconsin Water Resources Institute. The report, entitled, “Rural Resident Perceptions of Wisconsin’s Waters” is available for free download.

As part of a larger project, Cardiff, associate professor of geoscience, and his interdisciplinary team surveyed 1,500 randomly selected households across 16 counties in Wisconsin. They received 481 responses.

Cardiff was struck by the importance water held for rural interests in hunting and fishing. “If we’re talking with rural users about why they might want to protect their water, speaking in that natural reference frame about impacts on fish and wildlife might resonate.”

The finding about the “forever chemicals,” PFAS, surprised Cardiff. “People might just be hearing about this through the media and so it’s something they’re worried about even though it might not be as important as other contaminants in rural settings,” he said. “We usually think of dangerous concentrations of PFAS being associated with industrial operations or airports.”

The survey also contained questions regarding water supply, but respondents had fewer concerns regarding this issue. Cardiff agrees with that assessment. “I would generally say we’re in a good place in Wisconsin on water supply. We tend to have more issues with flooding than we do with not being able to reach water,” he said.

However, Cardiff expects water pollution and water supply to become more important in the future as the Upper Midwest is touted as a climate haven and more people move here.

Rural residents were also surveyed about how they get their news about water. “Rural residents don’t get a lot of news about their water, or at least they don’t report getting a lot of news. The most cited sources of information were local news or friends and family, but even use of those sources was quite low,” Cardiff said.

Respondents ranked other sources of information more trustworthy than local news or their friends. This included UW scientists, research organizations and private well testers. But rural residents don’t report hearing from them very often.

Cardiff expects the report to be useful for state legislators and water regulatory agencies. Collaborating with him on it were UW student Catherine Christenson; Ken Genskow, professor of planning and landscape architecture; and Bret Shaw, associate professor of life sciences communication.

The post Wisconsin’s rural residents concerned about water quality first appeared on WRI.

https://www.wri.wisc.edu/news/wisconsins-rural-residents-concerned-about-water-quality/

In: Andrew Glasgow, Freshwater@UW Summer Research Opportunities Program, Haoran Wei, PFAS, surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Water Science and Engineering Laboratory

A PFAS conundrum

On: November 6, 2023

An evening view of Lake Mendota from outside UW-Madison’s Water Science and Engineering Laboratory. Image credit: Andrew Glasgow

This summer, 31 students from across the country were chosen for the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Freshwater@UW Summer Research Opportunities Program, which is affiliated with Wisconsin Sea Grant, the University of Wisconsin Water Resources Institute and the University of Wisconsin-Madison Graduate School. Many of the students provided reflections on what they learned. We’ll share several over the coming months. Here’s Andrew Glasgow, an undergraduate in civil and environmental engineering from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

When people hear that I spent my summer on the shore of Madison’s Lake Mendota, many imagine leisurely days basking in the sunshine. While many of my evenings were spent outdoors with colleagues and new friends, the bulk of my daylight hours were instead spent indoors at UW-Madison’s lakeside Water Science and Engineering Laboratory—where matters far removed from summer fun weighed upon my mind.

As part of the Freshwater@UW research program this summer, I worked to develop an inexpensive, accessible method for detection of PFAS in drinking water. PFAS, also known as “forever chemicals,” are a group of over 4,000 toxic, synthetic substances with high persistence and ubiquity in the environment and drinking water. However, due to the cost and time constraints of current detection methods, many communities—especially those without access to financial resources—cannot monitor their water supply for PFAS contamination. As such, these communities may unknowingly continue to ingest high levels of PFAS, potentially leading to cancer and other health issues. Through my involvement in this project, I sought to help protect human health by combating this state of affairs.

The Ramen Spectrometer used by Glasgow in Wei’s lab. Image credit: Marie Zhuikov, Wisconsin Sea Grant

My mentor, Haoran Wei, and I hoped to detect PFAS using surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS): a rapid, inexpensive technique that uses a laser to detect different molecules. While prepared for failure, we had high hopes for success; SERS’ usage had facilitated the detection of other micropollutants in the past. And to our great encouragement, our hopes seemed to be affirmed by the initial results. With further research, we discovered that these groundbreaking results were not as they seemed; our method had been detecting another substance instead and was thus unsuccessful.

One half of the program had passed when we made this discovery—one month spent performing dangerous and tedious work, in service of an illusion waiting to be shattered. Considering the mental tolls of PFAS work, learning the truth of our results was a disorienting blow, as our confidence and endurance of those struggles now felt purposeless. Not only would our work not improve the current detection methods for PFAS in drinking water, but it could likely not be published for other researchers (despite its value), due to publication bias and the optics of “failed” results.

While my mentor and I still attempted to analyze why PFAS could not be detected, technological limitations unfortunately prevented final confirmation after weeks of analysis. Our project ended on this anticlimactic note.

Despite this conclusion, however, if given the opportunity to live the entire experience over, I would do so in a heartbeat. Although the final research outcome was disappointing, I developed essential skills and learned powerful lessons that I will carry throughout my career. Even more valuable was the opportunity to become integrated into a research community—which, as I discovered, is an opportunity to cherish. When there are new undergraduate and graduate friends to connect with, to mutually share excitements and failures, the weight of any personal defeat pales in comparison. I am very grateful for both the research and the friendships that the Freshwater@UW program provided me.

The post A PFAS conundrum first appeared on Wisconsin Sea Grant.

https://www.seagrant.wisc.edu/blog/a-pfas-conundrum/

Making the world a better place

On: October 11, 2023

In: Dane County, Eric Kastelic, Freshwater Collaborative of Wisconsin, groundwater flooding, Hydroecology Lab, Melina Dennis, Steve Loehide, U.S. Geological Survey, University of Wisconsin-Madison

Melina Dennis (center) conducting field research this summer. Image credit: Submitted photo

By Melina Dennis, Freshwater Collaborative summer research student

This summer, 31 students from across the country were chosen for the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Freshwater@UW Summer Research Opportunities Program, which is affiliated with Wisconsin Sea Grant, the University of Wisconsin Water Resources Institute and the University of Wisconsin-Madison Graduate School. Many of the students provided reflections on what they learned. We’ll share several over the coming months. Here’s the third, from Melina Dennis, an undergraduate senior in environmental engineering from the Oneida Reservation in Wisconsin.

This summer I worked in UW-Madison’s Hydroecology Lab, which is in the Civil and Environmental Engineering Department under Steve Loehide. I worked with my grad student mentor, Eric Kastelic, on studying groundwater flooding in Dane County.

Before this program, I had limited knowledge about graduate school. I was interested in furthering my education, but I didn’t know how graduate school worked or what it looked like for the fields I am interested in. I have since learned an enormous amount from working in a research lab, and from the professional development seminars the program hosted.

At the beginning of the program, we had a seminar on science communication. The seminar touched on the importance of making science accessible to nonscientists and gave me a point of resonance for why I am doing this in the first place: to help people. As I went through the program, I was pleasantly surprised to meet more and more people who felt the same way. At the forefront of a lot of people’s work was the hope of making the world a better place for others.

My mentor hosted a graduate student panel for one of the seminars. I gained insight into the life of graduate students, the process of finding a graduate program, differences between types of graduate degrees, how funding works, and so much more. Another seminar covered funding more in depth. I learned more about the many sources of it, differences in funding across degrees and programs, how to have conversations about funding your degree, and how to apply for common types of grants.

We also had seminars focused on career development. Staff from the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) came in and gave us information about working in the federal government. I got a lot of useful and intriguing information about careers with USGS, paths to employment with them, and benefits of working for a federal agency. I can see myself working for USGS after graduate school, as what they do aligns with the goals and values I have for my career. By working in the research lab with my mentor, I developed technical skills that are directly applicable to my career goals, including computer programs and physical tools used in research and the public sector of my field. I had many fun field days where I got to see how data is collected and collect some of my own.

I now have a much better picture of graduate school and how it can help me achieve my career goals. I also feel more prepared in pursuing graduate school. I am grateful for this program and all the valuable information I received.

The post Making the world a better place first appeared on Wisconsin Sea Grant.

https://www.seagrant.wisc.edu/blog/making-the-world-a-better-place/

In: climate change education, Global Learning and Observations to Benefit the Environment, GLOBE, Michael Notaro, nasa, Nelson Institute Center for Climatic Research, NOAA, Snow-GLOBE, snowflake classification, The Bentley Collection, U.S. Department of State, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Welty Environmental Center

Hoping for snow: Wisconsin snow data project captures snowflake images and students’ attention

On: October 4, 2023

We’ve all heard that no two snowflakes are alike. But few people know that most are similar enough they can be classified.

Michael Notaro with the University of Wisconsin-Madison is teaching Wisconsin school children the similarities in snowflakes to share the wonder of nature and information about the Great Lakes climate, but also to expand an international environmental database.

An “ordinary dendritic” snowflake crystal. This means it has six branches. Image credit: The Bentley Collection, UW- Madison.

The database is called GLOBE, which stands for Global Learning and Observations to Benefit the Environment. This environmental education youth citizen science program began in 1995 and is run by NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration). It is sponsored by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the National Science Foundation and the U.S. Department of State. According to Notaro, more than 40,000 schools in 127 countries participate by inputting data such as temperature, wind speed, soil moisture and bird migration from their communities into the online GLOBE database.

Notaro, director for the Nelson Institute Center for Climatic Research, said his Sea Grant-funded Snow-GLOBE Youth Citizen Science Collaborative project helps address a lack of climate science education in the classroom.

“There’s very little time allocated toward the topics of weather and climate, particularly climate change,” he said. “Also, a lot of educators have expressed discomfort in terms of their training and teaching related to climate. So, I’m trying to provide the tools for the teachers, the training for the teachers, and also the opportunities for the students to learn how to become citizen scientists – that they themselves, even as a young person, can support some of the missions of NASA, NOAA and other agencies.”

Darien Becker, environmental educator with Welty Environmental Center (right), instructs two interns from Beloit Memorial High School on how to identify snowflakes using the Snow-GLOBE protocol. Image credit: Aaron Wilson, Welty Environmental Center.

He’s currently working with eight schools and three environmental centers across Wisconsin in Beloit, Racine and Door County. The children measure snow depth, snowfall amounts and their liquid equivalents. This data has a home in GLOBE already. What doesn’t have a home is snowflake classification. Notaro would like to change that.

The children take photos of snowflakes with their cellphones and a special lens, which Notaro provides. “They start with a wooden board with black velvet. The flake falls on it. Then you use a clip-on macro lens to take a photo and a high-precision ruler to estimate the crystal’s diameter. I also provided information like images from the Bentley Library,” Notaro said.

The Bentley Collection is housed at UW-Madison’s Space Science and Engineering Center. It contains photomicrographs (photos taken through a microscope) by Wilson Bentley, a homeschooled Vermont farm boy who developed a passion for studying water in all its forms. Snowflakes were his specialty, and he sold collections to universities across the United States, including UW-Madison.

Based on the shape of the crystal, the students can classify what type of snowflake it is. Some of the options include columns, hexagons, two branches, four branches, and the typical Christmas-card version with six branches.

Notaro said the photography activity is a hit. “Kids are interested in their cell phones, as we know. Kids are interested in photography. This connects those interests to science.”

A plate snowflake with simple extensions. Image credit: The Bentley Collection, UW-Madison.

Such data will help track what’s going on with snow in Wisconsin. Notaro’s goal is to expand the project to more middle schools, high schools and environmental centers in Wisconsin and across the Great Lakes.

“Ideally, I hope to find a school where there are three or more teachers interested in participating,” he said. “That helps with the longevity of their involvement. And then I usually set up a professional development workshop near them. I’ll order GLOBE equipment, so I supply all the equipment that they need. Then I provide training and calibration instructions and work with the school.”

Interested educators can contact Notaro at mnotaro@wisc.edu.

“This upcoming winter we’ll be able to get some data collected. The goal is building up the schools and the resources toward data collection. I hate to say it, but hopefully, it snows a lot,” Notaro said.

The post Hoping for snow: Wisconsin snow data project captures snowflake images and students’ attention first appeared on Wisconsin Sea Grant.

https://www.seagrant.wisc.edu/news/hoping-for-snow-wisconsin-snow-data-project-captures-snowflake-images-and-students-attention/

In: adjusting to adverse research situations, Freshwater@UW Summer Research Opportunities Program, Jessica Alcorn, Northwest Missouri State University, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Water Science and Engineering Laboratory

When too much water hinders water research

On: September 1, 2023

When too much water hinders water research

By Jessica Alcorn, Freshwater Collaborative summer research student

This summer, 32 students from across the country were chosen for the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Freshwater@UW Summer Research Opportunities Program, which is affiliated with Wisconsin Sea Grant. Many provided reflections on what they learned. We’ll share several over the coming months. Here’s the first, from Jessica Alcorn, an undergraduate senior in general chemistry from Northwest Missouri State University.

Jessica Alcorn. Image credit: unkKinetics

Since I was young, I was interested in chemistry and the environment, and was certain I would end up in a science field. I get much of my inspiration and passion for the environment from my grandfather. He was a hydrologist for the USGS and never failed to discuss his current research with his grandkids any opportunity he had.

As I entered my senior year, I was hoping to earn opportunities and gain experiences that would help me achieve my goals, which include earning a Ph.D. Near the end of the fall 2022 semester, I began searching for summer research programs at universities around the Midwest. The Freshwater Collaborative Program immediately stuck out to me because of the interdisciplinary emphasis in water research. By participating in this program, I hoped to get hands-on laboratory experience, and learn what graduate school research is like. This program exceeded all expectations, was a great experience, and solidified my plans for attending graduate school.

Throughout this summer, my eyes were opened to what graduate school can really be like. Many things did not go as expected, meaning plans were constantly being adjusted and changed. The biggest, unexpected event that occurred during my time here was the flood in the Water Science and Engineering Laboratory (WSEL).

For my project, I performed a chemical synthesis that produces chlorine gas. Because of this, the synthesis needed to be done in a chemical fume hood. There are only two fume hoods in WSEL that are at the proper grading to support chlorine gas, both of which were on the second floor. On this day, I had just finished my synthesis, put the sash up, and left the room to begin washing the solutions. In the short time I was gone, the sash failed and crashed down, causing the water main to burst. Water gushed from the wall inside and outside of the fume hood. Within minutes, the floor was covered and water was leaking through the floor all the way to the sub-basement.

The flood made it so I was unable to perform another synthesis at WSEL, it also hindered the work I was doing in my main wet lab. Because of this, I got a few days behind on my research plan. I had to take extra steps to do my everyday tasks. To perform another synthesis, my graduate student mentor and I transported all the necessary equipment and materials across campus to the Geoscience Building, where we gained permission to use their fume hood. I also moved much of my equipment to a different lab in WSEL to continue performing work without the flood damage and maintenance equipment in the way.

Through this experience, I was able to understand how to conduct research, but also how to be flexible when unexpected events occur. Science comes with many uncontrollable events; this experience taught me to persevere and continue making progress through adverse situations.

The post When too much water hinders water research first appeared on Wisconsin Sea Grant.

https://www.seagrant.wisc.edu/blog/when-too-much-water-hinders-water-research/

After 25 years, problem-solver-in-chief James “Frizby” Grandt retires

On: July 5, 2023

In: Aquatic Sciences Center, Department of Geoscience, Frizby, James Grandt retirement, University of Wisconsin-Madison

Aquatic Sciences Center systems engineer James Grandt is a fixer.

“A lot of people don’t like problems,” said Grandt. “I like problems to solve. Give me something, I’ll figure it out.”

James “Frizby” Grandt kneels next to one of the remotely operated vehicles he assembled. Image credit: Wisconsin Sea Grant

Grandt, nicknamed “Frizby” for his love of disc golf and freestyle disc, retires in August after 25 years of service to the Aquatic Sciences Center and 36 total years to the University of Wisconsin–Madison. An Air Force veteran and electrical and computer engineer by training, he has worked on and fielded questions about the many technologies that help us do our jobs, from computer hardware and software to data storage systems and research instrumentation.

Notable projects include updating the conference room to touch panel controls, supporting the Grandparents University outreach program, and helping create the web version of the popular Wisconsin Fish ID app.

Grandt also worked to bring Great Lakes science and technology to the public. He assembled remotely operated vehicles (known as ROVs) that both children and adults use to take photos and video of underwater environments and a touch screen kiosk about aquatic invasive species that now lives at the Wisconsin Maritime Museum.

In short, if it’s got wires and goes through walls, if it’s got buttons and beeps and boops, Grandt will take a crack at it.

“That’s what I like about the job,” he said. “I don’t do the same thing every day. Always something different.”

Prior to the Aquatic Sciences Center, Grandt worked with the Department of Geoscience as an instrumentation specialist and helped develop a 4-channel digital sonar system to estimate how much biomass—or as Grandt describes it, “fish food and fish”—floated in the water column. He participated in research cruises on the Great Lakes, Gulf Stream and Bay of Fundy. One harrowing trip found him aboard a naval research ship in the Atlantic Ocean.

“We had lost propulsion in the Gulf Stream, and a large tropical storm was somewhere in the Atlantic,” said Grandt. Massive waves pounded the boat, stripping off equipment the crew had welded to the deck.

“Everything was gone when the storm was over. We rode it for 12 hours…but we survived.”

Risky voyages have been a theme throughout his life. When Grandt was 15, he and a friend biked 1,200 miles roundtrip from their home in Edgerton, Wisconsin to Thunder Bay, Canada. No helmets, no panniers—just two 10-speed bikes with a little bag to hold their tent and basic supplies. They camped at campgrounds and waysides, alternating who called home each night. They made the whole trip in around 14 days.

So, what’s next? Grandt has plans for an active retirement, one filled with travel (Vietnam and Thailand are already on the list), spending time with grandkids and getting outside. He enjoys canoeing, fishing, skiing and hiking—and may even return to Thunder Bay with his childhood friend, this time with a helmet and an e-bike.

After decades of fixing our problems, Frizby will leave us with one he can’t solve: we’ll miss him.

The post After 25 years, problem-solver-in-chief James “Frizby” Grandt retires first appeared on Wisconsin Sea Grant.

https://www.seagrant.wisc.edu/blog/after-25-years-problem-solver-in-chief-james-frizby-grandt-retires/

Jenna Mertz

Aquatic invasive species management through people management

On: April 28, 2023

In: aquatic invasive species management, behavior change, Bret Shaw, North American Lake Management Society, social science, Tim Campbell, University of Wisconsin-Madison

Natural resource management issues often boil down to people management issues. When it comes to lake management, people can be hard to predict. They may say one thing but do another. They may think they’re good environmental stewards even though some of their behaviors suggest otherwise. But to make meaningful progress in aquatic invasive species management issues, human behavior must be taken into account.

Intersections between natural and social science is the theme of a recent article written by Wisconsin Sea Grant’s Aquatic Invasive Species Outreach Specialist Tim Campbell and University of Wisconsin-Madison Associate Professor and Division of Extension Environmental Communication Specialist Bret Shaw. “Natural and Social Science Work Better Together for Managing AIS” appeared in the spring 2023 issue of “Lakeline,” published by the North American Lake Management Society.

The article outlines effective social science methods, including understanding target audiences, crafting better messages and addressing barriers to behavior change.

The post Aquatic invasive species management through people management first appeared on Wisconsin Sea Grant.

https://www.seagrant.wisc.edu/blog/aquatic-invasive-species-management-through-people-management/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=aquatic-invasive-species-management-through-people-management

Gaining a big picture of bluff erosion and sand movement along Lake Michigan

On: April 20, 2023

In: Chelsea Volpano, College of Menominee Nation, Great Lakes Quests, J. Elmo Rawling, Justin Hougham, Lake Michigan erosion, Lucas Zoet, Luke Zoet, Point Beach State Forest, Port Washington, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Wisconsin Geological and Natural History Survey

Chelsea Volpano works with a remote-controlled boat used to research erosion along Lake Michigan. Image credit: Chelsea Volpano, University of Wisconsin-Madison

High water levels in Lake Michigan since 2013 have caused erosion rates that are faster than usual, especially in 2020, when lake levels set records. This has created an urgent need to know more about erosion processes along and in the lake.

Lucas Zoet with the University of Wisconsin-Madison Department of Geoscience and his research team are looking at bluff erosion and sediment movement at two Wisconsin sites along Lake Michigan in a holistic way to better understand erosion rates and where the eroding sediment goes. This information will help guide shore protection and bluff stabilization processes and preserve beaches for recreation.

The two study sites are located just south of Port Washington and at Point Beach State Forest, which is farther north, near Two Rivers. The researchers chose those sites because they offer good representations of different erosion processes. The Port Washington site sits on a bluff, the Point Beach State Forest site is composed of sand dunes.

Lucas Zoet, University of Wisconsin-Madison. Submitted image

“The processes on these sites can be applied all over the place in Wisconsin,” Zoet said. “Lots of the bluffs we have are generally similar to those at the Port Washington site, composed of a mix of glacial tills and various lake deposits that are interbedded. So just understanding these processes at a base level, they should be generally applicable to more or less everywhere.”

The project’s holistic approach is unique. “The real strength of this project is that it doesn’t break the whole system up into little chunks, like we study this part and then we don’t know how it works because it’s in isolation from this other part. Instead, we’re trying to look at the whole continuous system, from what’s happening onshore, to what’s happening on the beach, to what’s happening in the nearshore over multiple years. We can study this on a representative timescale. Not just in a week or a month, but over seasons, which we know is such a big player in the Great Lakes region,” Zoet said.

Compared to the well-studied processes that happen on marine coastlines, winter is the season that makes erosion issues in the Great Lakes distinctive. Zoet said that cold weather impacts erosion differently.

“We have this season where the bluffs freeze solid, the shore ice forms – all these different components that drastically alter sediment transport. You don’t see that if you’re looking at beaches in North Carolina or Oregon,” Zoet said.

To study the onshore section, Zoet, J. Elmo Rawling with the Wisconsin Geological and Natural History Survey and Ph.D. student Chelsea Volpano, use drones and trail cams to gather data. To study the beach, Volpano conducts wading surveys. For these, Zoet said Volpano carries a staff with a GPS unit on it to measure lakebed elevation.

“She walks out into the water up to about her waist, about a meter deep and just does that over and over. So, with that, she can connect the onshore component to the offshore component for this continuous map that’s called topo-bathy,” Zoet said. This type of field work is uncommon. “She might be one of the only people to do these wading surveys in near-freezing waters, repeatedly throughout the years,” Zoet added.

To study the nearshore area, the team uses a medium-sized remote-controlled boat that contains an instrument that measures the elevation of the lakebed for a full 3D map of the system. By repeating these measurements over time, the team can assess how the lakebed is changing and where the sediment is going.

(Drone footage by the research team of a landslide area along Lake Michigan.)

One aspect of communicating the project involves Great Lakes Quests. These are story maps compiled by Justin Hougham, University of Wisconsin-Madison, and Sea Grant. The Port Washington site is already part of the Quest database, but the Point Beach State Forest isn’t, and will be added.

The project will also be communicated through public workshops for educators and property owners along Lake Michigan who are concerned about coastal erosion. “We’ll do a walk of the terrain with them and we’ll probably bring a couple of the instruments we use, like the drone and the remote-controlled boat,” Zoet said. The first workshop is planned for September 2024.

Zoet has a long-standing working relationship with the College of Menominee Nation in Wisconsin. He’s currently helping design the college’s new geoscience program. Faculty members at the college plan to recommend students who could help work on the story maps for the project and computer mapping.

Summing up this multifaceted project, Zoet said, “In the end, I think we’ll learn a lot about the processes, but we’ll also learn a lot about how to better advise coastal managers, county managers and parks managers.”

The research team uses a remote-controlled boat to measure the elevation of the lakebed along Lake Michigan. Image credit: Chelsea Volpano, University of Wisconsin-Madison

The post Gaining a big picture of bluff erosion and sand movement along Lake Michigan first appeared on Wisconsin Sea Grant.

https://www.seagrant.wisc.edu/news/gaining-a-big-picture-of-bluff-erosion-and-sand-movement-along-lake-michigan/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=gaining-a-big-picture-of-bluff-erosion-and-sand-movement-along-lake-michigan

New project tests Ceded Territories for PFAS at request of tribes

On: April 3, 2023

In: Andre Bennett, Christine Custer, Emily Cornelius Ruhs, Eve Muslich, Gavin Dehnert, Great Lakes Indian Fish and Wildlife Commission, Jonathan Gilbert, Lac Courte Orielles Ojibwe University, lake water, maple sap, maple syrup, Ojibwe Ceded Territories, PFAS, quantifying PFAS, Robert Flynn, Sean Strom, tree swallows, University of Chicago, University of Wisconsin-Madison, USGS, Voigt Intertribal Task Force, walleye, wild rice, Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, wolves and PFAS levels, Zhewaab Reggie Cadotte

Eve Muslich, University of Wisconsin-Madison, pours maple sap from a collecting bag into a bottle for testing for PFAS. Image credit: Bonnie Willison, Wisconsin Sea Grant

April 3, 2023
By Marie Zhuikov

When Jonathan Gilbert, director of biological services with the Great Lakes Indian Fish and Wildlife Commission, received a report about levels of PFAS (per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances) in wolves taken during the 2021 hunting season in Wisconsin, he was flummoxed. The scientific report contained terms and measurements that he, even as a biologist, didn’t understand. Gilbert’s quest for answers led to a larger project that is testing maple syrup, walleyes and lake water for PFAS in areas of the Midwest where Ojibwe tribal members harvest food.

During the wolf season, hunters volunteered their wolf remains to GLIFWC for PFAS testing. Gilbert said about 40% of the wolves had detectable levels of these chemicals. He was given Gavin Dehnert’s name as someone who could help answer his questions about the PFAS report. Dehnert, an emerging contaminants scientist, specializes in PFAS. Dehnert works for Wisconsin Sea Grant, a sister agency to the University of Wisconsin Water Resources Institute (WRI).

Jonathan Gilbert, Great Lakes Indian Fish and Wildlife Commission. Image credit: Bonnie Willison, Wisconsin Sea Grant

“So, I called him up and we had a nice conversation and he answered all my questions and educated me quite a bit on this,” Gilbert said.

Gilbert needed to present the wolf data to the Voigt Intertribal Task Force – a group composed of 10 of the 11 Ojibwe tribes that harvest from Ceded Territories in parts of Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan. The task force ensures safe harvest limits and is advised by GLIFWC. Gilbert invited Dehnert to attend the meeting.

Dehnert said, “We spent probably two to three hours just listening to the questions they had, concerns they had – big questions they were really hoping to answer.” Those questions involved PFAS levels in fish, wild rice, and maple syrup and other things tribal members harvest on a regular basis.

“Gavin kept saying, ‘Well, we don’t know, we don’t know.’ But he took what he heard there, and he wrote up a grant proposal to test the waters in rice lakes and in walleye lakes, and to test the sap of maple trees. That’s exactly what the tribes were telling him they were really concerned about,” Gilbert said.

The three-year tribally driven project, “Quantifying PFAS bioaccumulation and health impacts on economically important plants and animals associated with aquatic ecosystems in Ceded Territories,” was recently funded by the U.S. Geological Survey’s Water Resources Research Act Program, the same program through which WRI is funded.

The project has three goals: 1) Assess aquatic environments for PFAS contamination in the Ceded Territories, 2) Determine the accumulation of PFAS in different plants and animals and 3) Understand the health impacts from PFAS exposure. In addition to Dehnert and Gilbert, the project involves Emily Cornelius Ruhs with the University of Chicago, Sean Strom with the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, and Christine Custer and Robert Flynn with USGS.

“Zhewaab” Reggie Cadotte, Native American Studies Faculty and Cultural Coordinator, Lac Courte Orielles Ojibwe University, and Gavin Dehnert, Wisconsin Sea Grant, inspect a maple tree for sap sampling on Lac Courte Orielles tribal land in northern Wisconsin. Image credit: Bonnie Willison, Wisconsin Sea Grant

Dehnert said that part one of the project will explore lakes where there’s high harvests of walleye and other fish species and wild rice in Ceded Territories. Researchers will look for the presence of PFAS and determine the levels.

Maple trees were tapped for maple sap collection on Lac Courte Orielles tribal lands to determine levels of PFAS. Image credit: Bonnie Willison, Wisconsin Sea Grant

Part two involves understanding the bioaccumulation of PFAS in harvestable goods. “If we know that it’s in the water source where these walleye or wild rice are living, we want to be able to have some sort of correlation between how much PFAS is in the lake water and then how much is then getting into the fish and wild rice,” Dehnert said. Gilbert stressed that they don’t know how much PFAS moves from the water into fish and plants. They will also test vats of maple sap harvested by tribal members.

Part three will look at impacts on organisms that live in the aquatic environments, focusing on tree swallows. This part, led by Ruhs, will explore how PFAS can impact the immune function of tree swallows in different life stages, from nestlings to adults. The swallows are considered an indicator species for contaminated water because they feed near their nesting area almost solely on aquatic insects. Researchers will take blood samples from the birds and look at white blood cell count and antibodies.

Part one will begin this spring with sampling of maple sap and lake water in 25 lakes.

Dehnert is looking forward to the project.

“It’s not focusing on just science for science. There’s a true actionable side to it. That was why we chose the plants and animals that were highly harvested by these tribes. If you’re finding high concentrations of PFAS in these types of harvestable goods, they are going to disproportionately impact the tribes because they are relying on them for their sustainability and food consumption. Sometimes in science people might look at different plants and animals that don’t really have a cultural tie. So that, to me, has always been why we got so excited about this project,” he said.

A research project team collects maple tree sap for PFAS sampling on Lac Courte Orielles tribal land in spring 2023. Pictured, left to right, are Eve Muslich, University of Wisconsin-Madison; Andre Bennett, Lac Courte Orielles Ojibwe University; Gavin Dehnert, Wisconsin Sea Grant; Jonathan Gilbert, Great Lakes Indian Fish and Wildlife Commission; and “Zhewaab” Reggie Cadotte, Lac Courte Orielles Ojibwe University. Image credit: Bonnie Willison, Wisconsin Sea Grant

The post New project tests Ceded Territories for PFAS at request of tribes first appeared on WRI.

https://www.wri.wisc.edu/news/new-project-tests-ceded-territories-for-pfas-at-request-of-tribes/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=new-project-tests-ceded-territories-for-pfas-at-request-of-tribes

The Great Lakes BioBlitz

On: March 30, 2023

In: Anne Moser, Bioblitz resources, Earth Day, Great Lakes BioBlitz 2023, iNaturalist, Professor David Drake, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Urban Canid Project, webinar

Birders look at cormorants off Barker’s Island. Image credit: Marie Zhuikov, Wisconsin Sea Grant

Students, educators, families and friends are invited to celebrate Earth Day with the kickoff of the Center for Great Lakes Literacy’s 4th Annual Great Lakes BioBlitz. This event is a great opportunity to engage youth and the public in community science, collect data to support biodiversity research and conservation, and learn more about the living things in the Great Lakes Basin.

What is the Great Lakes BioBlitz?

A free event that focuses on finding and identifying as many wild, living things as possible in the Canadian provinces and U.S. states that border the Great Lakes during a specified period of time.

When is the Great Lakes BioBlitz?

The BioBlitz begins on Earth Day (Saturday, April 22) and it runs for four weeks, ending on Saturday, May 20.

How do I participate in the Great Lakes BioBlitz?

The beauty of this project is that you decide your level of participation. Take an afternoon to explore and document some plants or wildlife in an area, or pick a location to return to weekly, or set a goal to find something new every day–there are many ways to participate. You may participate as an individual, a family, a class, or other group.

Joining is as easy as saying “One-two-three-CHEESE!”

Visit iNaturalist or download the app onto your phone and create an account.
Visit and become a member of the Great Lakes BioBlitz project.
Get outside, get out your cameras, and start making and posting observations!
To be a Bioblitz wizard, verify other participants’ Great Lakes BioBlitz Project postings.

Want to learn more about the Great Lake BioBlitz?

Visit the Great Lakes BioBlitz Resources webpage for more information about the project and educator resources for engaging youth in this wonderful learning experience.

WEBINAR! Want to learn more about a community science project that uses iNaturalist data?

Register for and attend the 2023 Great Lakes BioBlitz webinar featuring guest scientist Professor David Drake of the UW Madison, Urban Canid Project. Join us 4-5:30 p.m. CDT, April 12 on Zoom to learn about how Drake and his team are using iNaturalist to better manage urban coyotes and red foxes. It uses iNaturalist to collect the public’s sightings of coyotes and red foxes in the Madison area. His presentation will describe the type of iNaturalist data collected and how the information is used for improved urban canid management.

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information on how to join the webinar. Please contact Anne Moser at akmoser@aqua.wisc.edu or (608) 262 3069 if you have any questions regarding registration, the webinar, or have accommodations and accessibility requests.

Why would we want to encourage our community to do this?

There are so many benefits of becoming a BioBlitz wizard:

Engage in an outdoor activity, discover the wild living things in the world around you, form and strengthen a connection to your place
Join a global community of observers, learners, and scientists passionate about biodiversity and the Great Lakes
Contribute to a global database of organisms. Observations made on iNaturalists contribute to research, conservation, and educational outreach programs.

Time to get outside!

The post The Great Lakes BioBlitz first appeared on Wisconsin Sea Grant.

https://www.seagrant.wisc.edu/blog/the-great-lakes-bioblitz/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=the-great-lakes-bioblitz

Anne Moser

Research survey aligns the Wisconsin Idea with water

On: August 25, 2022

In: Bret Shaw, Campbell Dunn, Catherine Christenson, Ken Genskow, Michael Cardiff, natural language processing, rural Wisconsin groundwater quality and quantity perceptions, survey, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Wisconsin Idea

August 25, 2022
By Marie Zhuikov

The Wisconsin Idea is one of the longest and deepest traditions surrounding the University of Wisconsin. It promotes the principle that education and the influence of the university need to reach beyond the boundaries of the classroom across the state.

A new Water Resources Institute project will survey rural communities across Wisconsin to discover their perceptions about groundwater quality and quantity. Image credit: Marie Zhuikov

Associate Professor of Geoscience Michael Cardiff and his research team at the University of Wisconsin-Madison are applying the Wisconsin Idea to groundwater issues. They received two years of funding from the University of Wisconsin Water Resources Institute to survey rural residents about their perceptions regarding groundwater quality and quantity. The findings will be interpreted by a panel of experts who will use the results to inform future water opportunities and research directions.

“The central goal is basically understanding people’s perspectives on this issue of water availability with the idea that if we better understand stakeholders — the people who care about water — we can do a better job of making decisions that are positive and are viewed positively,” Cardiff said.

The water survey will be sent by mail in early 2023 to people who live in rural communities. “As far as we’re aware, it’s going to be the first of its kind to try and get a better handle on rural Wisconsin perspectives,” Cardiff said. “We are focusing on rural counties because 97% of our state is rural and the majority of water is beneath those counties, but we’re also trying to get some diversity represented in the counties we are surveying.” Cardiff noted that rural communities depend on groundwater for their drinking water supply because many do not have public water treatment systems.

For a second part of the study, the researchers will examine news stories, research reports, county plans and public comments with a technique called natural language processing, which allows computers to read and extract meaning from text. The computers will be instructed to analyze and summarize articles that contain terms such as “water quality.” Cardiff explained this is another way to tune into conversations surrounding water issues in various communities.

This project was an unexpected benefit from the social isolation that Cardiff experienced during the Covid-19 pandemic. “It was a great chance to pause and consider the impact of my work,” he said. “I came to the conclusion that I love the technical aspects of the work I do, but one of the reasons I’m in hydrology is that it’s important that the work has positive outcomes – both for people and the planet. I felt there was a niche to make more connections with people about what’s going on with water resources and understand their perspectives so we can have productive conversations throughout the state.”

Collaborating with Cardiff on the project are Bret Shaw, associate professor in life sciences communication and Ken Genskow, professor of planning and landscape architecture. Both are at UW-Madison. Shaw will ensure the survey questions elicit useful information and that they are understandable. Genskow has experience bridging the gap between water science and social science. He’ll bring his experience working with rural communities on issues such as nitrate contamination in groundwater.

They will be aided by students Catherine Christenson and Campbell Dunn.

This project is also receiving additional funding from the U.S. Geological Survey.

The post Research survey aligns the Wisconsin Idea with water first appeared on WRI.

https://www.wri.wisc.edu/news/research-survey-aligns-the-wisconsin-idea-with-water/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=research-survey-aligns-the-wisconsin-idea-with-water

Percolating pollution

On: May 19, 2022

In: cancer, Central Sands, Chris Zahasky, e.coli water pollution, Kewaunee County, National Science Foundation, PET, positron emission tomography, University of Wisconsin Cylclotron Lab, University of Wisconsin-Madison

Groundwater pollution project is first to use cancer imaging technology in novel way

A Wisconsin Water Resources Institute project is exploring how bacteria and other water contaminants flow through soil by applying a medical technology widely used for cancer imaging.

Chris Zahasky, assistant professor in the Department of Geoscience at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, received two years of funding to study soil types in the two most vulnerable geologic settings in Wisconsin for groundwater pollution. Those are the Central Sands district, which features sandy soil, and Kewaunee County along Lake Michigan, which features fractured bedrock. Zahasky is investigating how E. coli bacteria – one of the main water contaminants in Wisconsin – percolates through the soil and ends up polluting groundwater and people’s private wells.

His research team hypothesizes that flow of contaminated water though soil that’s highly permeable leads to bacterial contamination of groundwater at greater distances from the pollution source than what was thought possible based on previous laboratory measurements in more stable, homogeneous geologic materials.

“With a better understanding of these transport and travel pathways, we can build better models to understand and manage the risks associated with these contaminants,” Zahasky said. “We all know the source of bacteria and nitrate. In Wisconsin, it’s largely from certain agricultural activities. Ideally, we can make better decisions about the times of the year that you might do manure spreading or certain geologic setting that shouldn’t have manure spread on them because of the ability for these bacteria to travel through this material and get down to the groundwater.”

Zahasky and his team are conducting their research in the lab with soil samples they’ve gathered from the Central Sands area and Kewaunee County. They measure the soil’s properties, then pack it into large tubular columns and inject water through the material in a controlled manner. Then they add bacteria they’ve grown and pump them into the columns.

This is where the cancer imaging technology comes in. It’s called positron emission tomography (PET). In medical situations, doctors use PET with radio tracers to identify tumors in the body. It’s also used in some cases for cancer therapy treatment. The radio tracers are basically a radioactive sugar molecule. Cancer tumor cells have a high metabolism and so they uptake (eat) these sugar molecules at a higher rate than other cells in the body, which is what the PET ends up imaging.

Zahasky’s graduate students (Vy Le on the left and Collin Sutton right) work in the imaging lab. Submitted photo.

Zahasky explained how this works for his purposes. “We leverage that imaging technique by radio labelling these bacteria, which means that we attach these radioactive isotopes to the bacteria that are emitted as they travel through these columns. As we’re imaging them, we can essentially track where these bacteria are going, how fast they’re getting there and where they’re getting stuck.

“We’re the first people in the world to radio label bacteria for environmental and geologic purposes. We’re pretty excited about this,” Zahasky said.

How do they attach radioactive isotopes to tiny bacteria? Zahasky said it’s not complicated. “We grow the bacteria until just the right point – where they’re starting to get hungry. Then we add this radio-labeled sugar and they just gobble it up. The bacteria eat the sugars just like tumor cells do.”

Zahasky developed this approach during his Ph.D. work at Stanford University. However, many of the isotopes required for this imaging are produced at the University of Wisconsin Cyclotron Lab. So, it made sense for him to continue his research at UW-Madison, where he has built capability with support from a National Science Foundation grant.

“It allowed my research group to leverage this type of imaging in lots of new ways that just weren’t possible without having access to these facilities here on campus,” he said.

Zahasky plans to apply this technique to future studies involving the movement of microplastics and other contaminants such as heavy metals.

The post Percolating pollution first appeared on WRI.

https://www.wri.wisc.edu/news/percolating-pollution/

Online shipwreck game educates players

On: April 18, 2022

In: Anne Moser, Field Day Lab, Great Lakes, PBS Wisconsin, shipwreck game, The Legend of the Lost Emerald, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Wisconsin Historical Society

A free online video game for children about a Great Lakes shipwreck is now available. “The Legend of the Lost Emerald,” is a point-and-click adventure game designed for players grades 4-6. It was developed by the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Field Day Lab in partnership with Wisconsin Sea Grant, PBS Wisconsin Education and the Wisconsin Historical Society. Teacher fellows offered insights at every step of the game’s development. Funding was provided by PBS Wisconsin Education with additional help from the Wisconsin Coastal Management Program and Sea Grant.

Players must use critical thinking and historical inquiry skills to find the wreck as they step into the shoes of Jules, a maritime archaeologist, with help from a cast of diverse family members. Players dive underwater to gather clues, build evidence and uncover the real treasure – stories of shipwrecks inspired by Great Lakes history. It takes two classroom sessions to complete (about 2 hours).

“The goal of the game is to connect students with the maritime history in their own state – to go beyond the story of the Titanic,” said Anne Moser, senior special librarian and education coordinator for Wisconsin Sea Grant. “It includes topics like lake ecology, maritime archaeology, trade and commerce.”

The post Online shipwreck game educates players first appeared on Wisconsin Sea Grant.

https://www.seagrant.wisc.edu/news/online-shipwreck-game-educates-players/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=online-shipwreck-game-educates-players