Wetland Coffee Break

press release: "Restoring wetland amphipods to revive wetland habitats," by Dr. Danielle Larson, U.S. Geological Survey

Amphipods are important wetland invertebrates that indicate water quality and healthy aquatic plant habitats and are a key food for waterfowl. Our research will describe new findings relating amphipods to plant diversity, nuisance wetland fishes, insecticide contamination, and waterfowl wetland use. We also share our experimental attempts to ‘stock’ or do ‘conservation translocation’ of amphipods as a wetland restoration tool.

Dr. Danelle Larson is a federal research ecologist and the aquatic vegetation monitoring lead for the Upper Mississippi River Restoration Program. She documents how aquatic plant communities are structured and why as well as the influences of plants on other aspects of the ecosystem. Her research has spanned a variety of aquatic ecosystems to provide the best available science to inform the management and restoration of wildlife habitats.

The Wetland Coffee Break series helps keep our community of wetland lovers connected and learning about wetlands throughout the year, from anywhere! Bring your coffee and learn about wetlands, the plants and animals that call them home, and the many natural benefits they provide to our communities. Sessions are held on Zoom and feature time for audience Q&A.

Visit wisconsinwetlands.org for a list of upcoming presentations and to register. Once you register, you’ll receive an automatic email including the URL link and password you’ll need to access the meeting. We record and post each presentation so you can watch any that you missed live. You’ll find links to these recordings at the website, and you can also find them on our Facebook page.

We are grateful to all of the presenters for sharing their knowledge and expertise and to everyone interested in learning more about wetlands! If you are interested in giving a Wetland Coffee Break presentation, or if you have a wetland topic you’d like to see covered, please contact Katie.Beilfuss@wisconsinwetlands.org.