WORT 89.9FM Madison · Lake Mendota Invasives Set Off Ecological Chain Reaction

In late April, the waters of Madison’s Lake Mendota still look fairly pristine – clear enough in spots to see the bottom of the glacial lake.  Those conditions, as anyone who has been here in midsummer can attest, will soon change.  As the weather heats up and sunlight increases, algae blooms will soon cover swaths of the lake in green slime– or even worse, toxic blue-green mats.  Swimmers brave enough to duck the algae blooms also have to worry about stepping on razor sharp zebra mussel shells, while fisherfolk lament the decline in desirable sport fish.  A new study looks at the linkages between these many woes of the world’s most studied lake.  Robin Rohwer is a National Science Foundation postdoctoral fellow at the Baker Microbial Ecology Lab of the University of Texas at Austin.

Family of ducks on Lake Mendota: photo by Jeff Miller.

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