Did you know there are 117 million lakes on Earth? July is Lakes Appreciation Month. The purpose of this month is to raise awareness about threats towards our lakes, and how we can help conserve them. People can use this month to organize teams to clean up our lakes and to raise awareness for Lakes Appreciation Month.
Online Resources about Lakes
Lakes Appreciation Month Website
Interactive website from the Environmental Protection Agency
Free "how-to-fish" classes for all ages.
Real-time lake water quality data from a research buoy on Lake Lillinonah. The buoy is part of a partnership between Jen Klug at Fairfield University and Friends of the Lake, a non-profit organization dedicated to improving the water quality of Lake Lillinonah.
Scientific Organizations Working on Lakes
Global Lakes Ecological Observatory Network (GLEON)
"The Global Lake Ecological Observatory Network conducts innovative science by sharing and interpreting high-resolution sensor data to understand, predict and communicate the role and response of lakes in a changing global environment." Mission Statement
Association for the Sciences of Limnology and Oceanography (ASLO)
The North American Lake Management Society (NALMS)
NALMS goals:
- To promote the exchange of information on aspects of managing lakes and their watersheds.
- To promote public awareness of lake ecosystems.
- To encourage public support for promoting management of lakes and their watersheds.
- To provide guidance to agencies involved in management activities for lakes and their watersheds.
- To boost the professional status of those engaged in managing lakes and their watersheds.
- To identify needs and encourage research on lake ecology and watershed management.
Journals that Focus on Aquatic Systems
Limnology and Oceanography (published by ASLO)
Freshwater Biology
Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
Hydrobiologia
Journal of Great Lakes Research
Lake and Reservoir Management (published by NALMS)
Books
The Biology of Lakes and Ponds, by Christer Bronmark and Lars-Anders Hansson
"This concise yet comprehensive introduction to the biology of standing waters (lakes and ponds) combines traditional limnology with current ecological and evolutionary theory. It integrates the effects of abiotic constraints and biotic interactions at both the population and community level, allowing the reader to understand how the distribution and success of different organisms in this freshwater habitat can be explained and predicted. The book is focused on temperate lakes and ponds, drawing on examples from polar and tropical systems to provide a broader context." Publisher Description
"In this remarkable and remarkably accessible synthesis of ecology, landscape design, and social sciences, the authors present an approach to lakeshore living that addresses the need to create rich, sustainable places and communities on the water, where both the loon and the family find a place, and where the cabin can be handed down with integrity to the grandchildren. Fragile shorelands require care, and that caring comes from knowledge, experience, and an environmental ethic. Radomski and Van Assche argue that an environmentally sensitive lakeshore place and community design is the way forward. While many factors affect the quality of lakes and lakeshore living, property owners and local communities do not have to wait until policies are perfect: the design approach advocated here can be applied in any place people living lakeside can get together and collaborate. The approach presented here is proactive and context sensitive: new designs have to fit the existing ecological, cultural, and policy landscapes. Development is always re-development in this sense. The authors introduce the reader step-by-step to this approach and carefully discuss leverage points that can be helpful in implementation and system change." Publisher Description
"For centuries, eyewitnesses around the world?from America to Africa, Argentina to Scotland?have reported sightings of dark, mysterious creatures in area lakes that surface briefly, only to quickly disappear. While the most famous lake monsters of Loch Ness and Lake Champlain have gained international notoriety, hundreds of lakes around the world are said to shelter these shadowy creatures. Lake Monster Mysteries is the first book to examine these widespread mysteries from a scientific perspective. By using exhaustive research and results from firsthand investigations to help separate truth from myth, the authors foster our understanding of what really lurks in the cold, murky depths. Benjamin Radford and Joe Nickell are considered to be among the top lake monster authorities in the world. Here they share unique insights into many of the world's best-known lake monsters. They interview witnesses and local experts and discuss the different types of lake monster sightings, delve into possible explanations for those sightings, and examine hoaxes, evidence claims, and legends surrounding the monsters. The authors have also conducted groundbreaking fieldwork and experiments at the lakes and have examined recent photographic and sonar evidence. Incorporating newly-revealed information and up-to-date developments in the cases they present, professional monster hunters Radford and Nickell plunge into both the cultural histories of these creatures and the scientific inquiries that may hold the key to these mysteries." Publisher Description
Coffins of the Brave: Lake Shipwrecks of the War of 1812, by Kevin James Crisman and Walter Rybka
"In Coffins of the Brave: Lake Shipwrecks of the War of 1812, archaeologist Kevin J. Crisman and his fellow contributors examine sixteen different examples of 1812-era naval and commercial shipbuilding. They range from four small prewar vessels to four 16- or 20-gun brigs, three warships of much greater size, a steamboat hull converted into an armed schooner, two gunboats, and two postwar schooners. Despite their differing degrees of preservation and archaeological study, each vessel reveals something about how its creators sought the best balance of strength, durability, capacity, stability, speed, weatherliness, and seaworthiness for the anticipated naval struggle on the lakes along the US-Canadian border.
The underwater archaeology reported here has guided a new approach to understanding the events of 1812