Salamanders, newts and mudpuppies are amphibians, and they are all salamanders, but not all salamanders are newts or mudpuppies.

In Wisconsin, opening fishing applies to certain species of fish such as walleye, trout, largemouth bass, and northern pike. However, this season opener does not apply to panfish, which are open year-round. Panfish include species such as bluegill, crappie, sunfish, and yellow perch.

There are many kinds of record keeping that scientists use to recapture recent and ancient history

Apple cultivars brought as seed from Europe were spread along Native American trade routes, as well as being cultivated on colonial farms. By the mid 1800s, United States apples nursery catalogues sold 350 of the "best" cultivars, showing the proliferation of new North American cultivars by the 19th century.

Open lakes, no snow, and sweatshirt weather was the scene this December in Vilas County. Much to the chagrin of ice anglers and cross country skiers, El Nino has taken hold and has had many implications for the local people, economy, and ecosystems.

The Common Watersnake, Nerodia sipedon, is common throughout much of eastern North America. Our local subspecies, the Northern Watersnake, is common throughout much of Wisconsin.

There are many exotic plants and animals that we don’t consider to be pests. Corn is native to Mexico, soybeans are native to Asia, tulips are native to Europe. Most of our domesticated animals are exotic with domestic cattle originating in Asia. Many of these plants and animals are exotic but not extremely invasive. They have become part of ecosystem around us.

Global warming may also be affecting a global water circulation system abbreviated AMOC that includes the Gulf Stream, that river of ocean water that moves warm tropical water north along the east coast of North America before veering off toward Europe.

Gardening in the Northwoods can be challenging. Long winters, short summers, and our many whitetail deer friends all conspire against us. In recent years, we have one more pest to deal with, the Japanese beetle.

Spiny water fleas are aquatic arthropods called zooplankton. Zooplankton are small shrimp-like creatures, and most of them survive by eating phytoplankton, the microscopic photosynthetic algae at the bottom of the food chain in lakes.