Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant’s Aquatic Invasive Species (AIS) outreach team was recognized along with many other collaborators in a NOAA Spotlight article for their work on the Great Lakes Risk Assessment Tools. This tool estimates the potential invasiveness of species being sold for use in trade and hobbies such as aquaculture, live bait, and water gardens etc. It provides insights for resources managers that may guide future policies with the goal of preventing the spread of invasive species. This is also a tool that hobbyists and people working in the trades can use proactively use to help choose less threatening species. IISG “will be talking with retailers, hobbyists, and water gardeners – going to shows and posting information in stores – about how they can use the risks assessments as a guide to get ahead of regulations and make responsible decisions now,” said Pat Charlebois, IISG AIS Coordinator.
Recent News
- Meet our Grad Student Scholars: Lena Azimi
- Spring brings a program review as well as education and outreach opportunities
- Public comments sought for Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant review
- Illinois Indiana Sea Grant announces new coastal ecosystem and community resilience specialist
- Meet our Grad Student Scholars: Haribansha Timalsina
IISG Instagram
Join the Invasive Crayfish Collaborative for an exciting webinar featuring Purdue University master`s student Izzy Paulsen. Izzy will share her mixed method study exploring how and why teachers use live crayfish and their interest in outreach. Her study draws from interview and survey data conducted in Great Lakes states.
Register at the link in bio.

Deadline extended! The IISG program, in cooperation with the @nationalparkservice at @indianadunesnps and @UrbanRivers in Chicago, is offering two internship opportunities to support conservation policy efforts. Sea Grant’s national Community Engaged Internship (CEI) program aims to broaden participation in coastal, ocean, Great Lakes, and marine sciences providing training and mentorship to the next generation of scientists, decision-makers, and citizens.
The program will do so by recruiting, retaining and engaging students in place-based research, extension, education, and/or communication that respects and integrates local ways of knowing.
Applications due April 21.
Learn more at the link in bio.

Meet IISG grad student scholar, Lena Azimi! Lena is a fourth-year Ph.D. student in the School of Civil and Construction Engineering at Purdue University, specializing in geomatics with a background in environmental engineering. During her master’s program, Lena encountered remote sensing technology, which provides a way to collect data from a distance, especially remote or hard-to-reach places. This experience led her to pursue a Ph.D. degree and dive deeper into remote sensing and tackle urgent environmental challenges.
Learn more about her research at the link in bio.

Join us this Thursday for a seminar on the latest fish biology, ecology, and fisheries science happening in Lake Michigan.
Speaker will include:
-Anna Hill (Purdue) with an update on alewife diet and growth rates in Lake Michigan
-Charlie Roswell (INHS) with an update on Lake Michigan and Calumet River smallmouth bass movement
-Dan Makauska (IL DNR) with an update from the Illinois Department of Natural Resources
Learn more and register at the link in bio.
