Introducing Lake of the Week!

Here in the Duffy Lab we sample a lot of lakes around the Ann Arbor area and we get to see some truly beautiful sites! We thought it would be fun to share some of the photos we’ve taken from each lake, in a new series called Lake of Week. Each week, one of fifteen lakes will be featured, with a little background information to accompany the pictures. Check out this page over the next few months to see which lake is in the spotlight. Don’t worry, they’ll all get their chance to shine! And without further ado, our first Lake of the Week is below!

Photo Credit: Siobhan Calhoun

Whitmore Lake is a very popular recreational lake in the Brighton area! It’s the deepest lake we sample (about 69 feet) and is a haven for water skiers during the summer months. We were lucky enough to be able to capture the sunrise over the lake before our field season comes to a close in a few weeks.

Lake of the Week Round Two

This week we have (drumroll please!) Pickerel Lake as our lake of the week! Pickerel is a lab favorite, largely due to its beach-like boat launch area. During the summer months, it is frequented by many swimmers and kayakers, who are often interested in our plethora of research equipment. At 56 feet deep, it is not one of our shallower lakes. But we are lucky enough to enjoy the epic scenery as we pull up several meters of line. Please enjoy the photos below!

Photo Credit: Siobhan Calhoun

Lake of the Week Round Three

With the end of field season in mind, Bishop Lake, one of the last lakes we sampled, was the perfect fit for lake of the week! Over the last few months, Bishop has been a constant source of fun: from the kids playing on large, inflatable climbing structures, to the Halloween decorations adorning the lake, to the rare glimpses of freshwater jellyfish (!!!). The fog was heavy at the outset of our final sampling day, but it gave way to sunny skies as we collected our data. Please enjoy the pictures below!

Photo Credit: Siobhan Calhoun

Lake of the Week Round Four

This week, Crooked P Lake gets its turn to be showcased! While it can sometimes be difficult to locate the basin of the lake, the beautiful dock area more than makes up for it. Visitors (and field samplers!) can enjoy the varied plant life that flourishes during the summer, along with a glimpse of the swans that are often gliding around on the water. Check out the photos below!

Photo Credit: Siobhan Calhoun

Lake of the Week Round Five

This week will actually feature two lakes as a bonus for everyone working so hard in preparation for winter break. Hopefully the photos provide a little break and a (virtual) scenic view during everyone’s busy weeks.

First up is Sullivan Lake! Sullivan is not the most popular lake among Duffy Lab members, due solely to the extremely muddy boat launch. This often requires one person to stand and use an oar to pull the boat through the mud and onto the water, which can be a bit of a work out. However, what it lacks in its entry point, it makes up for by being easily navigable and fairly shallow, which makes sampling a pretty smooth process. You might also catch a glimpse of a water snake, or (more likely) the cows from the nearby farm!

The second lake featured this week is North Lake! Visitors can enjoy the beautiful fall foliage and the robust plant life that springs up in patches throughout the lake. North Lake is also rather important in the Duffy Lab because we routinely collect water from it in order to keep our laboratory animals safe and happy! Enjoy the photos below!

Top Left: North Lake, Bottom Left: Sullivan Lake (photo credit: Syuan-Jyun Sun)
Right: Sullivan Lake (photo credit: Siobhan Calhoun)

Lake of the Week Round Six

This week is also a double feature, so I hope everyone has a chance to look at more cool photos and blissfully remember a time when it was (slightly) warmer than it is now!

The (first) victor this week is Woodland Lake! While the basin spot is quite close to the boat launch, Woodland’s shores boast beautiful houses that you can admire from anywhere on the water as well as a plethora of fish that are sure to greet you by the dock when it’s warmer out.

The second lake sharing the spotlight the week is Walsh Lake! Walsh was the FINAL lake we sampled this year, providing a source of cheer and punctuating the hard work the lab put in during field season. The cold weather was offset by the beauty of the vibrant yellow trees (and the handwarmers in our pockets!). Enjoy the photos below!

Top left and upper top right: Woodland
Lower top right and Bottom: Walsh
(Photo Credit: Siobhan Calhoun)

Lake of the Week Round Seven

This week’s post offered the opportunity to celebrate the start of the Spring (or Winter) semester and to (hopefully) help readers ease back into the swing of things with some awesome lake photos. Bruin Lake and Gosling Lake are the winners this week, so read on for the fun facts about both lakes as well as the beautiful sights Michigan has to offer.

Bruin Lake is always sampled in the early morning on our field days and we are often treated to views of mist billowing off of the placid surface. By mid-morning, traces of fog begin to burn off and the sun creates a pretty spectacular scene for anyone lucky enough to be out on the lake!

Next up is Gosling Lake! Known for a basin spot that is notoriously difficult to locate and confoundingly very close to the boat launch, Gosling eliminates the need for the attachable motor we bring on our field days. Duffy lab members opt instead to row around in hopes of landing in the right spot for sampling, and depending on the wind level this can be a very delicate process.

Top left: Bruin Lake (photo credit: Kira Monell)
Bottom left: Bruin Lake (photo credit: Syuan-Jyun Sun)
Right: Gosling Lake (photo credit: Siobhan Calhoun)

Lake of the Week Round Eight

It’s February already! And really, what’s the start of a new month without new lake of the week photos to accompany it? Luckily there are two more lakes to add to the list this week, so see the fun facts below for more information on this week’s lake(s) of the week: Little Appleton Lake and Appleton Lake!

Duffy lab members often say that Little Appleton Lake (Lil Ap for short) is the size of a bathtub. Though it is small, it is still mighty! Visitors are privy to the sight of beaver dams (whose builders may or may not have stolen one of the lab’s buoys), several frogs that we try not to startle, and the rare snapping turtle that is kindly returned to the lake after wandering too far away.

Right around the corner is Appleton Lake, a Duffy Lab favorite due to its calming atmosphere, sandy shore, and the sheer number of dogs that can be seen splashing around in the shallows while we work. Appleton always provides some serenity at the end of a long field day and you might even catch a glimpse of a baby turtle making its way slowly to the water’s edge.

Top Right: Appleton Lake (photo credit Siobhan Calhoun)
Left and Lower Right: Little Appleton Lake (photo credit Libby Davenport)

Final Round of Lake of the Week

It’s hard to believe that March is almost over! Hopefully April will bring some warmer weather, but in the meantime this final(!!!) lake of the week post should hopefully refresh everyone’s memories of sunnier days as we get ready for spring. Taking home the title for the last time are Cedar Lake, Mill Lake, and Crooked W Lake! See the pictures and facts below to learn about the final lake(s) of the week.

These three lakes are all located in the Waterloo area of Washtenaw County and represent some of the shallower lakes sampled by the Duffy Lab. But don’t be fooled by their lack of depth, because each has its own magic to share with visitors. At Crooked W you might be treated to the spectacular view of a water plane landing, and at the very least some amazing tree foliage in the fall. Cedar boasts beautiful flora in addition to the plankton we cherish as a lab. And Mill never fails to showcase amazing greenery during the heat of the summer!

Left: Crooked W; Middle: Cedar; Right: Mill (photo credit Libby Davenport)

Freshwater Jellyfish

Have you ever heard of the magical, mystical freshwater jellyfish? This field season, we caught a few freshwater jellyfish in Crooked Lake in Waterloo Recreation Area in southeast Michigan, as well as Bishop Lake near Brighton, MI.

Meet Henry, our lab pet. His scientific name is Craspedacusta sowerbii. He likes to eat zooplankton, but Daphnia spp. are his favorite.

Sharon the Shark

Since we work in the Ruthven Natural History Museum building, we are lucky to enjoy many different kinds of preserved specimen and life size models. We are fortunate enough to have our very own lab mascot, Sharon the Shark! We like to dress her up for the holidays.