Katie O'Reilly

A calm tree-lined lake under a clear blue sky.

Lake webinars! MILP just upcated their list. Some new ones:
8/21: How zebra mussels are changing fish contaminants
8/26: How wake boats impact lakes
9/25: Starry stonewort and manoomin (wild rice)
10/2: When the forst burns, what's in the water?

Full list: www.canr.msu.edu/michiganlake...

A group of people collecting water samples from a riverbank

A group of people, wearing lifejackets, in rowing boats

A member of our team in a boat, on a polar fieldtrip, wearing yellow waterproofs and a lifejacket

Check out this exciting job opportunity, for a Senior Freshwater Ecologist at @ukceh.bsky.social...take a look and please repost!

ceh.wd3.myworkdayjobs.com/en-US/CEH_Ca...

#freshwater #ecology #job #career 🧪🐟🦠🌊🚣‍♀️

MARK YOUR CALENDARS! Your AFS SciComm Section will be hosting another student feedback session on Thursday, July 31 at 7:00pm CT. We encourage student members to attend and present their presentation or poster for the upcoming @americanfisheries Annual Meeting in San Antonio, TX! Students will receive feedback from other AFS SciComm Section members on how to improve their presentations ahead of their big days in the Lonestar State. Members can find a link to access the 7/31 feedback session in their email.

We will be hosting another student feedback session on Thursday, July 31 at 7pm CT. Students can receive feedback on how to improve their #fishscicomm ahead of their big days at the @amfisheriessoc.bsky.social Annual Meeting in the Lonestar State.

Colored pencil drawing of a blue tang fish (more commonly known as Dori)

Day 27 of drawing a fish a day and coming up with a new fish off of the top of my head is getting more challenging 😅 #SundayFishSketch

Vertical photo of a crayon sketch of a male and female Taiwan chub, with the male featuring elongated anal fin and barred body.

Political news out of Taiwan this weekend dashed the hopes of many. In spirit with all who need a cheer-up, for my #TaiwanFishes #SundayFishSketch here's the Taiwan chub 粗首鱲 Opsariichthys pachycephalus — a cyprinid endemic to our mountainous little island nation. #台灣魚類 #我那小小多山的國家 🐡🦑🧪🧋

An illustration of an Oarfish swimming through deep water. The fish is dramatically lit from the top right side, its back and fins almost glowing in contrast to the dark blue background. Debris floats through the water.

An older illustration of an Oarfish for today's #SundayFishSketch 🐡

A mummichog, a small killifish that lives off the east coast of Canada in the Atlantic Ocean.

#SundayFishSketch

Decline of whitefish in Lake Michigan sparks fears that the fish might disappear State regulators say the commercial harvest of lake whitefish in Lake Michigan has reached its lowest level since 1990, and some fisheries biologists fear the species might largely disappear in parts ...

Decline of whitefish in Lake Michigan sparks fears that the fish might disappear

The commercial harvest of the fish has declined nearly 90 percent since 1999

#GreatLakes

www.wpr.org/news/decline...

Invasive red swamp crayfish found in pond at Wolf Lake State Fish Hatchery

Invasive red swamp crayfish found in pond at DNR's Wolf Lake State Fish Hatchery in Michigan - announcement from @michigandnr.bsky.social

content.govdelivery.com/accounts/MID...

Infographic explaining "Corn Sweat": Water from corn is released as vapor, adding 4,000 gallons/acre, moderating temperatures, and increasing rain chances with illustrated corn characters.

Have you talked about corn sweat yet? There's no doubt, the corn fields around us are sweating.

🎧 Everyday Environment Podcast Episode: A Midwest phenomenon - Corn Sweat at https://extension.illinois.edu/podcasts/spotlight-natural-resources/corn-sweat-midwest-phenomenon

Detroit River Restoration Succes Stories

The Detroit River is full of habitat restoration success stories! Learn about the history of the Detroit River Area of Concern and the tremendous partnerships bringing this urban habitat back to life, in this quick video from Erica Clites: buff.ly/UumojP1
@planetdetroit.org @dailydetroit.bsky.social

goals for the day:

1. ponder life for an hour

2. jettison off into the abyss

Comic. The Most-Observed Animal and Plant in Each State on iNaturalist. (Not the most common species in the state, just the one people have reported the most times.) [labeled map of the US] WA: Mallard/Western Sword Fern. OR: Mule Deer/Western Ponderosa Pine. CA: Western Fence Lizard/California Poppy. HI: Green Sea Turtle/‘Ōhi’a Lehua. ID: Mallard/Big Sagebrush. NV: Common Side-Blotched Lizard/Creosote Bush. MT: White-Tailed Deer/Common Yarrow. WY: American Bison/Sticky Geranium. UT: Mule Deer/Utah Juniper. AZ: Ornate Tree Lizard/Saguaro. CO: Mule Deer/Great Mullein. NM: Mule Deer/Creosote Bush. AK: Moose/Fireweed. ND: American Bison/Prairie Rose. SD: American Bison/Hoary Vervain. NE: American Robin/Common Milkweed. KS: Ornate Box Turtle/Amur Honeysuckle. OK: Pond Slider/Eastern Redcedar. TX: Northern Cardinal/Pinladies. MN, WI, IL: Common Eastern Bumble Bee/Common Milkweed. IA, MI: White-Tailed Deer/Common Milkweed. MO: Brown-Belted Bumble Bee/Amur Honeysuckle. AR: Three-toed Box Turtle/Chinese Privet. LA: Green Anole/Baldcypress. IN: American Robin/Amur Honeysuckle. OH: Eastern Pondhawk/Virginia Springbeauty. KY: Common Box Turtle/Amur Honeysuckle. TN: American Robin/Christmas Fern. MS: Northern Cardinal/Pale Pitcher Plant. AL: Gulf Fritillary/American Sweetgum. GA: Green Anole/American Sweetgum. FL: Brown Anole/White Beggarticks. NY: Eastern Gray Squirrel/White Snakeroot. PA: White-Tailed Deer/Garlic Mustard. WV: White-Tailed Deer/Great Rhododendron. VA: White-Tailed Deer/Eastern Poison Ivy. MD: White-Tailed Deer/Wineberry. DE: Fowler’s Toad/American Pokeweed. NC: Eastern Gray Squirrel/Christmas Fern. SC: Northern Cardinal/American Sweetgum. NJ: Spotted Lanternfly/Common Mugwort. VT: Common Eastern Bumble Bee/Eastern White Pine. NH: White-Tailed Deer/Eastern White Pine. MA: Common Eastern Bumble Bee/Eastern White Pine. CT: Common Eastern Bumble Bee/Striped Wintergreen. RI: American Herring Gull. ME: American Herring Gull/Canadian Bunchberry.

iNaturalist Animals and Plants

xkcd.com/3118/

A figure from the Castle et. al. manuscript in the Journal of Great Lakes Research (Angler dynamics in the St. Clair-Detroit River System after decades of change) showing percentage of fish species targeted before, during, and after restoration of the St. Clair River

props to the yellow perch for holding steady

After a long history of degradation, restoration efforts in the St. Clair-Detroit River are helping bring back fish - and anglers

"Increased fishing opportunities resulting from continued habitat and population recovery are leading to increased catch rates and likely attracting anglers to the area"

A silvery spadefish glints in the golden hour light ✨♠️🐟🌆 #spadefish #atlanticspadefish #goldenhour #glint #silver #coral #coralhead #coralcitycamera #miami #portmiami #biscaynebay #coralcity

next you'll tell me that drinking water makes you feel good

‘Devastating’ spill in salmon habitat near Port Angeles: What to know Over 48 hours after a tanker truck crashed into a tributary of the Elwha River, the fallout remained unclear for salmon, wildlife and Port Angeles.

An oil tanker crash has leaked 3,000 gallons of diesel and gas into the Indian Creek tributary to the Elwha River, where tribes fought for the removal of hydroelectric dams and have been working to restore habitat and salmon runs.

nwtt.co/n-

Ink and watercolor sketch of a mussel with a smaller mussel attached to it and a cool fish.

The actual larger mussel with a smaller Quagga mussel attached. I removed the invasive Quagga and then returned the native mussel to the water.

Big bowfin.

A #SundayFishSketch with shellfishes and a fish. Probably an early 80s crime show? Mussels and the bowfin, solving mysteries and stopping pollution! Invasive mussel on the native mussel is a bit of a twist.

Watercolor painting of a side view of a leopard shark swimming in a kelp forest

A WIP of the kelp forest livestream from the Monterey Bay Aquarium for #SundayFishSketch and the start of #sharkweek, with a leopard shark!

Colored pencil drawing of an asian arowana fish.

Once I figure out how to draw scales properly I’ll be unstoppable 😤 #SundayFishSketch

An illustration of an Atlantic Silver Hatchetfish (also called the Lovely Hatchetfish). The fish is very silvery and reflective and the body is shaped like the head of an axe, with the tail being the thinnest part (like the handle of an axe). The fins are light in color and mostly transparent, and they eye is large and faces upwards.

This is the first time in a while that I've had time to draw for fun, so for an early #SundayFishSketch, I finished my drawing of an Atlantic Silver Hatchetfish 🐡

Vertical photo of a crayon sketch of a sharp tail mola adult, which has a center protrusion where most mola butt fin have a rounded shape.

After seeing so much mola art in Hualien 花蓮，of course it had to be a sharptail mola 曼波魚 Masturus lanceolatus for my #TaiwanFishes #SundayFishSketch today! Hualien has somehow catapulted this species into a local mascot, although negative effects of increased harvests are TBD. #Taiwan #台灣魚類 🦑🐡🧪

Heartened to see continued support for Sea Grant in the FY26 appropriations bill, a program that, in the Senate's own words, plays "a vital role to... create a sustainable economy and environment" and "provide invaluable educational opportunities to students"

‘We can’t regulate ourselves’ out of whitefish crisis, experts say | Great Lakes Now Amid a population crash of Michigan’s staple lake whitefish, fisheries experts told regulators that more research needs to be done to discover how to stem the scourge of invasive mussels. Without that...

Amid a population crash of lake whitefish, fisheries experts told regulators that more research needs to be done to discover how to stem the scourge of invasive mussels.

Without that, they said, efforts to limit fishing are futile.

Story by @bridgemi.com: www.greatlakesnow.org/2025/07/we-c...

Robotic rabbits deployed to fool invasive Burmese pythons Wildlife researchers in Florida have tried lots of methods to remove Burmese pythons from Florida’s ecosystems. The latest trick relies on the snake’s ability to find a delicious-lookin…

getting big Bugs Bunny vibes from this effort to control invasive Burmese pythons in Florida

www.sun-sentinel.com/2025/07/17/r...

Four panels featuring different crabs against a blank background. Left to right top to bottom: a clown crab that has a rounded legs and body with a high contrast splotchy pattern, a green crab with small eyes and earth toned colors, a vampire crab with large yellow eyes and a striking purple color, and a crab with a flat body and polka dots.

Crabs crabs crabs

Of the several different species of larval-stage #dragonfish that I occasionally encounter on my Aliens Collection dives, this is my fav. More distinct finnage, and super cool color dots.
#larvalfish #deepseafish #blackwater #blackwaterdiving #blackwaterphotography #gugunderwater #chrisgug #gug

Can confirm, a family member was laid off from New Leaf Energy - a renewable energy company - yesterday, with her bosses saying it was because of the "current political climate"

A spotted moray makes a dramatic entrance, with its needle sharp teeth in a mouth flared wide, the second morning in row #spottedmoray #morayeel #thatsamoray #teeth #lobster #sergeantmajor #coral #coralhead #coralcitycamera #miami #portmiami #miamibeach #biscaynebay #coralcity