A Source of Inspiration

Amid a constant flow of news and information, some words and images stand out. They make you think twice. That’s what creators of the Habitattitude™ campaign hope will happen when consumers hear or see the initiative’s important message.

The Great Lakes Sea Grant Network was one of several organizations that teamed up to launch the nationwide education campaign to communicate simple prevention steps to avoid introducing aquatic invasive species. The Habitattitude™ message is directed at consumers who own aquariums or water gardens and may find the need to dispose of undesired aquatic plants or animals.

The campaign was launched in September, just prior to alarming news in October that a northern snakehead fish was discovered in a Chicago harbor of Lake Michigan. Some reports say the non-native fish may have been released after outgrowing an aquarium. The news emphasizes the need for effective communication from scientists to the public to help prevent one of the most serious issues facing the Great Lakes.

For aquatic ecologist Sara Adlerstein, art provides another way to inspire an audience. As she says in this issue of upwellings, “art stimulates creativity and provides an opening to talk about environmental topics.” Her own interests have encompassed fisheries issues in Chile, migration patterns of halibut in the Pacific Northwest and population dynamics of cod and mackerel in the North Sea. Now Adlerstein turns her scientific and artistic eye to the Great Lakes and Saginaw Bay.

She and others conducting research on Saginaw Bay are particularly interested in new information on the bay’s fish community. Annual fall sampling conducted by the Michigan Department of Natural Resources sheds light on some of the dynamics of this important ecosystem, particularly the status of walleye and yellow perch populations.