One of the many fish that we caught in the Peshtigo River. Image credit: Gabrielle Gonzales
By Gabrielle Gonzales, Freshwater Collaborative summer research student
This summer, 35 undergraduate students from across the country conducted research with Freshwater@UW, the University of Wisconsin’s cross-site, cross-discipline research opportunities program. Freshwater@UW is supported by the Freshwater Collaborative, Wisconsin Sea Grant, Water@UW–Madison, the Water Resources Institute and the University of Wisconsin–Madison Graduate School. In the final weeks of the program, students reflected on what they learned. Here’s Gabby Gonzales, an undergraduate junior with an environment major from the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor, who worked with Titus Seilheimer with Wisconsin Sea Grant.
I spent my summer in Manitowoc, Wisconsin. I’m originally from Ludington, Michigan, which is the home of the car ferry that travels to Manitowoc throughout the summers; the sentimentality of being directly across Lake Michigan from my hometown was the cherry on top of this wonderful research experience.
My mentor, Titus Seilheimer, is a fisheries specialist. Knowing that I don’t want to work directly in academia once I enter my career, it was very useful to get a glimpse of all the realms of research I could get into without having to be a professor. I’m thankful to Titus for granting me the opportunity to gain all kinds of experiences and skills and have fun while doing it.
The mouth of Forget Me Not Creek in Two Rivers where we gathered measurements to calculate discharge, which is the volume of water flowing through the creek per second. Image credit: Gabrielle Gonzales
My activities ranged widely from assisting with an educational event for children at a public library, helping the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources with an electrofishing survey and wading through various creeks. In terms of research and science, I gained and refined many skills by working on a few different projects. Our team did pre-restoration habitat assessments in two creeks in Port Washington and Two Rivers, which both flow into Lake Michigan. We made observations about habitat types and water quality, which is important information for understanding the status of the creek and the suitability of the habitat for fish. This can then be used to make restoration plans that will help make improvements and ensure healthy fish populations.
We also assisted with wild rice monitoring throughout various locations surrounding Green Bay. Wild rice is important ecologically and culturally but has become increasingly threatened, which has warranted seeding and restoration efforts within the last few years. In addition to assessing attributes like rice density and water clarity, we were also interested in seeing how the presence and quality of wild rice populations corresponds with fish communities. My favorite part of the work this summer was learning the process of net fishing to observe fish species diversity in different coastal wetlands of Green Bay. This project in particular allowed me to explore my interests in community ecology and gain hands-on field skills that are bound to be useful in my future career.
Entering my senior year at the University of Michigan, my experience this summer allowed me to engage in self-discovery and better understand what next steps could be once I graduate next spring. The wide range of environmental science jobs can be overwhelming, but I’ve been able to get a firsthand look at the exciting choices that await. Being able to travel across northeastern Wisconsin and meet so many amazing scientists was a transformative experience that not only awarded me with applicable skills but also showed me that my opportunities are endless.