El Lower

Oh it’s awesome. The digressions are Ye Olde Timey Infodump and I find them immensely charming!

I’m following Les Mis Letters (reading a chapter a day of the unabridged Les Miserables for a full year) and we have now reached the infamous sewer digression. Victor Hugo is second only to @neorsd.org in their respective passions for wastewater management….

Beyond Chicago's charismatic exotic animals (shout-out to Chance the Snapper), the city's waterways have also become home to less conspicuous - but environmentally harmful - exotic species like weatherfish, goldfish, and red swamp crayfish.

A good reminder to never release pets to the wild!

I’m so sorry you’re going through this, my friend. You are far from the only incredibly talented researcher I know who has struggled to find work in your field and it’s an indictment of this broken system, not of your skills and effort. 🫂

Science Friday's Picture Of The Week: Invasive carp leap out of the Illinois River, where two technicians stand by with nets to catch them.

In our #PictureOfTheWeek, invasive carp exposed to an electric shock leap out of the Illinois River. Now, a new and contentious plan aims to keep the fish out of the Great Lakes: buff.ly/avmUipw

I’ll be presenting virtually this time around and am looking forward to our session tomorrow!

Absolutely!

NOAA saves lives.

We need to save NOAA.

Michigan lawmakers seek $500M to stop mussels, save Great Lakes whitefish - Bridge Michigan US Reps. Debbie Dingell and Tim Walberg are planning legislation to boost research to control invasive mussels, following Bridge Michigan reporting about the impending collapse of whitefish.

Michigan lawmakers want to greatly increase funding for invasive mussel control research in the #GreatLakes to $500 million over the next 10 years - as Great Lakes Fishery Commission's Greg McClinchey says in this article: "Mussels are this generation’s sea lamprey" bridgemi.com/michigan-env...

I think I'm pivoting from "everyone call your Senators to stop this" and am going to swing into "everyone call your Senators to tell them you're still pissed and you're coming for them in a primary season and we're not going to forget"

Lake Superior whitecaps

The legend lives on from the Chippewa on down
Of the big lake they called 'gitche gumee'
The lake, it is said, never gives up her dead
When the skies of November turn gloomy

🧵

As an Underwater Graveyard, the Great Lakes Have Claimed Close to 10,000 Ships Though called the Great Lakes, these massive bodies of water are actually inland seas, and can be just as unpredictable as the ocean.

While the Edmund Fitzgerald is the most famous, the #GreatLakes are home to an estimated 6000 - 10,000 shipwrecks. Many wrecks occur in fall due to the "November Witch" winds caused by a clash of cold Canadian air from the north + warm Gulf air from the south www.discovermagazine.com/as-an-underw...

A painting of the Edmund Fitzgerald

Gordon Lightfoot's iconic song tells the story of the Edmund Fitzgerald, lost 50 years ago this month. As we sing along, take a moment to connect with some of the other stories that unite us around a shared Great Lakes heritage: buff.ly/5YqgUrb

Shutdown disrupts research into Great Lakes’ toxic algae At risk is the ability for researchers to forecast dangerous blooms weeks in advance.

The shutdown has left NOAA's network of cooperative research institutes locked out of federal labs and cut off from federal collaborators. In some cases, it's affecting research aimed at public safety—like toxic algae monitoring in the Great Lakes. My story 🔏 & quick 🧵 www.eenews.net/articles/shu...

Three sea lampreys are in an aquarium; their mouths are on display with concentric circular rows of teeth around a sharp, rasp-like tongue

Not much is scarier for a #GreatLakes fish than the invasive sea lamprey, sometimes called vampire fish 🧛

But while they're more trick than treat in their introduced range, they're actually threatened in parts of their native range of the Atlantic coasts of Europe + North America - that's scary!

Vietnamese turmeric fish with dill Turmeric adds a pop of color and flavor to this bright, refreshing fish dish.

#FoodieFriday This colorful fish dish with rice noodles and herbs is sure to brighten up any dreary day. It's a riff on cha ca, a grilled Vietnamese dish famous in the city of Hanoi, but El Lower has tweaked the classic to feature any lean, mild local fish cooked up in a pan.

Thanks for boosting our research — nothing spookier than #GreatLakes #InvasiveSpecies!

Great Lakes most unwanted: Top 10 invasive species | Great Lakes Now Researchers make sense of the extensive variety and effects of invasive species.

Long after the Halloween season has ended, some Great Lakes’ invasive species remain a scary sight: blood-sucking parasites with suction-cup mouths, thousands of rotting fish carcasses washed ashore and sharp mussel shells that puncture the feet of beachgoers ☠️

www.greatlakesnow.org/2024/10/grea...

You have until Sunday SUNDAY Sunday to order a Biology is Bigger than Binaries shirt. I don't have room in my house for piles of shirts so our shirts are always time-limited.

Designed by @franzanth.bsky.social, supports @skypeascientist.bsky.social, looks cool as hell.

Get one: SquidFacts.net

I did too! And apparently I have a doctorate I didn’t know about! How flattering. 😑

The 125-Year-Old Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal Reversed the Chicago River, Now It Needs to Shed That Image It's been 125 years since the Chicago River was famously reversed by creating the 28-mile Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal. Voting is open to give the canal a new, less sewage-adjacent name.

125 years after the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal was built to reverse the flow of the Chicago River and connect the river to the Mississippi, there is a push to rename the waterbody. Public voting on the new name is open until November 7. news.wttw.com/2025/10/24/1...

"NOAA has built a reputation for world-class research...For every dollar invested in NOAA, the country’s return is orders of magnitude greater in productivity, transportation, farming, fishing, business development, and savings to communities in insurance and public safety."

As federal expertise erodes and critical positions disappear, the future of Great Lakes science and stewardship hangs in the balance. Discover why this moment demands our attention.

Latest Lakes Letter issue: https://bit.ly/4olHWPg

New Weekly Update from NEMWI Email from Northeast-Midwest Institute A new GLTF member, RIF updates, and more   NEMWI Weekly Update  October 20th, 2025   NEMWI To Host Event on Great Lakes Marine Sanctuaries The Northeast-Midwes

A federal court has stopped the Interior Department from laying off over 2,000 employees, including 108 from the USGS Great Lakes Science Center, 79% of the Center’s staff. More here:

Speechless. A fisheries science center that has a 100 year history in Ann Arbor.

This would be a major blow to #GreatLakes science

E&E News: USGS science centers face Trump’s chopping block Interior has indicated that it plans to lay off employees in science centers across the country, including deep cuts at some offices.

"The Great Lakes Science Center in Michigan would lose 108 of 137 positions."

via @eenews.bsky.social

“We don’t do this work for money or job security. We do it because we believe in the Great Lakes… It’s our home, driving us to protect and preserve it for future generations.” — Abby Hutson, Assistant Research Scientist

Latest Lakes Letter issue: https://bit.ly/4olHWPg

New tool in fight against Great Lakes invasive species: muskrats  - Bridge Michigan In the battle against invasive species, the common muskrat may be an unsung hero. A new study done in the UP by scientists from the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians, Loyola University and…

The lowly muskrat could be an unexpected ally in the push against aquatic invasive plants:

Beadwork showing different DNA patterns, including one that is displayed on a dog mannequin

Erica Lord, the Codes We Carry, beaded DNA #sciart for Indigenous Peoples Day
ericalord.com