Harmful algal blooms can result in toxins in lakes that result in fish kills and disrupt access for recreation and other economic activities. Although there is a hypothesis that increasing eutrophication and climate change lead to more severe algal blooms, our guest Grace Wilkinson reports in a recent article that algal blooms in 323 lakes in the US have variable outcomes in algal blooms, with no clear increase in blooms across lakes.

Join us as we discuss causes and consequences of algal blooms, the challenges and rewards of long-term ecological monitoring, and the impacts of restoration efforts and what communities can do to protect our lakes.

Dr. Grace Wilkinson is an assistant professor at the UW Madison Center for Limnology, where her lab researches patterns and controls on aquatic ecosystem function. There will be an upcoming opportunity for volunteers to help monitor water quality in the Madison area. More information will be available at https://limnology.wisc.edu/ in the coming months.

 

Image courtesy of: Smaack, CC BY-SA 4.0 , via Wikimedia Commons

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