Dr. John A. Berges, UWM Biological Sciences Professor and Affiliate Faculty Member in the UWM School of Freshwater Sciences, will present a talk about his research, entitled “Lake Michigan: Perspectives From the Bottom and Top of the Planktonic Foodweb.” Learn more about Dr. Berges’ research here.

“Good things take time” goes the adage. I’ll illustrate this using examples from two projects in my own lab over the past two decades. Both concern long-term environmental changes happening in Lake Michigan that affect the foodweb of organisms living in the water column. The first is the mystery of why dissolved silica, a mineral essential to one group of phytoplankton, has been increasing in the Lake. We show that bottom-dwelling macroalgae are likely playing a role. The second is the question of what species invasive zooplankton predators are feeding on. We approach this using a novel immunochemical method and show evidence for some surprising interactions. In both cases, persistence, patience, diverse collaborators and undergraduate researchers have played important roles.

The presentation will begin at 4:00 PM in Lapham N101 and via Microsoft Teams, preceded by an informal Q&A from 3:45 – 4:00 PM. If you aren’t able to join in person, you can click here to join via Teams.