The Lake Champlain Committee in partnership with Lake Champlain Sea Grant have announced their expanded line up of “Zoom a Scientist” programs.
The public can tune in virtually through Zoom every Tuesday and Friday from noon to 1 pm to learn more about Lake Champlain.
April 21 – A Fish’s Story: Following Lake Trout Movement around Lake Champlain
Studying aquatic organisms can present challenges due to limits in direct observation. University of Vermont Master of Science Candidate Matt Futia will lead participants through some technological advances that enable scientists to track individual fish to understand their movement across time. Learn what technologies are being employed and how they help us understand how Lake Champlain fish behave and use the resource. Click here to register.
April 24 – Microplastics in Freshwater Systems
Numerous studies document the physical and toxicological effects of plastic in the environment. Microplastics — those tiny plastic fragments of less than 5 mm in length — are of particular concern because they have the potential to be ingested by a much wider range of organisms than large plastic debris, making them and the chemicals they carry bioavailable throughout the food chain. Dr. Danielle Garneau has analyzed Lake Champlain wastewater treatment effluent for microplastics and mapped microplastic distribution in the lake’s zooplankton. She’ll share findings from her research and some thoughts on what can be done to address the problem. Click here to register.
April 28 – Long-term Effects of Climate Change on Lakes and the Importance of Winter Sampling
This episode looks at some of the research summarizing the effects of climate change and extreme events on lakes. What are some of the effects of climate change and extreme events on lakes? What happens to lakes during winter and why do most scientists only sample lakes in the summer? University of Vermont Limnologist Dr. Jennifer Brentrup will discuss some long-term studies on lakes and why sampling lakes year-round, especially under-ice, is becoming increasingly important. Learn how dissolved oxygen levels are used to estimate lake metabolism under-ice and other neat research methods. Click here to register.
May 1 – Sensing What is in the Water: Next-generation Sensor Technologies for Water Quality Monitoring
Lake Champlain Sea Grant’s Director Dr. Breck Bowden will review how researchers measure water quality, traditional sampling methods, and how new technologies are providing new insights. He’ll talk about the both the challenges and emerging opportunities that sensor technologies provide for water quality monitoring. Click here to register.
May 5 – But How Do We Know? Sampling Fish to Understand What’s Happening with Populations
Water is an alien habitat for humans; most information about fish is collected by remotely sampling (bringing fish to the surface to study). How do scientists use those samples of fish to understand whether fish populations are healthy? Are they increasing or decreasing in abundance? How do we interpret the data from a few fish to a whole lake? What new methods are being developed for observing fish? University of Vermont Fisheries Biologist Dr. Ellen Marsden will help answer these and other questions about current fisheries research on Lake Champlain. Click here to register.
May 8 – Squeezing the Middle of Lake Champlain’s Food Web
The recent surge in natural reproduction by lake trout is a success story, but can too much success be a bad thing? UVM Rubenstein Ecosystem Science Laboratory’s Director, Dr. Jason Stockwell research explores the interaction of lake trout natural reproduction and lake trout stocking strategies to evaluate if too many lake trout mouths will be too much for prey fish populations. How might the potential for a quagga mussel invasion effect food web energy and shunt production to the bottom of the lake. Click here to register.
May 12 – Mapping our Streams and Lakes With Drones
You have likely seen a drone fly by and maybe you even own one to take pictures or shoot video, but did you know we can also use drone technology for mapping and monitoring our streams and lakes? Jarlath O’Neil-Dunne, Director of the University of Vermont’s Spatial Analysis Laboratory, will share how drones are being used to map invasive species, respond to floods, and track changes in streams in the Lake Champlain watershed. Click here to register.
More information on the Lake Champlain Committee can be found on their website.
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