A quarterly roundup of news stories related to the ongoing work of Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant.

2020

December 2020

In this issue:
IISG staff members win outreach and communication awards;
Graduate fellowship opportunities available;
New podcast series discusses the science of ponds;
Illinois Extension searching for assistant dean who will serve as IISG associate director

October 2020

In this issue:
Indiana Master Watershed Steward volunteers dive in to help their local environment;
New toolkit makes finding weather and climate lesson plans easy;
Scientists bring the Great Lakes to students learning from home

July 2020

In this issue:
Lake Michigan Chinook salmon stick with declining alewife as their main meal;
Sea Grant Faculty Scholars program provides new opportunities for researchers in Illinois and Indiana;
New feeding approach promises more robust and healthy farm-raised larval largemouth bass;
Amid COVID-19 pandemic, the need for frequent hand-washing collides with soaring water rates

March 2020

In this issue:
Water affordability report helps inform new Chicago water billing policy;
Social norms help motivate people to adopt practices that protect water quality;
Purdue Extension Land Use Team launches American Citizen Planner program in Indiana;
Microplastics may increase the risk of PFAS entering the Lake Michigan food web

Summary report for IISG’s virtual workshop that was held in October 2020 and focused on improving communication about changing lake levels and water level variability in southwestern Lake Michigan and the impacts to the Chicago metropolitan area.

This fact sheet is a consumer guide to farmed walleye. The publication describes walleye, walleye farming, product safety, and culinary characteristics of walleye in addition to cooking tips and a recipe.

References:

1. Summerfelt, R.C., Kinnunen, R.E., Johnson, J.A., 2019. Production of Walleye as Potential Food Fish. North Central Regional Aquaculture Center Technical Bulletin #116, NCRAC Publications Office, Iowa State University, Ames. https://www.ncrac.org/files/biblio/WFS116secure.pdf
2. Summerfelt, R.C., ed. 1996. Walleye culture manual. NCRAC Culture Series #101, NCRAC Publications Office, Iowa State University, Ames, Page 5. https://www.ncrac.org/files/page/files/Chapter1.pdf
3. Williams, M.C.W., Murphy, E.W., McCarty H.B., Snyder, B.D. Schrank, C.S., McCann, P.J. Crimmins, B.S. 2017. Variation in the essential fatty acids EPA and DHA in fillets of fish from Great Lakes region. Journal of Great Lakes Research, 43, Pages 150–160. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jglr.2017.03.001

This is a quick summary of IISG’s opportunities and resources to help teachers and other educators increase their Great Lakes literacy, and ultimately that of their students.

The Helm is a collection of recent IISG success stories, describing some of our research, outreach, and education efforts to address coastal and Great Lakes issues in Illinois and Indiana.

Summaries of climate events on a quarterly basis throughout the Great Lakes basin as well as an outlook for the next season. The most current report, as well as previous report,s are available on the website for the Midwest Regional Climate Center, located at https://mrcc.illinois.edu/pubs/pubsGreatLakes.jsp.