A Lakeside Companion

A Lakeside Companion

by Ted J. Rulseh
A Lakeside Companion

A Lakeside Companion

by Ted J. Rulseh

eBook

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Overview

Why do fish jump? Why don't lakes freeze all the way down to the bottom? Which lake plants are invasive? What are those water bugs? Is that lake healthy? Whether you fish, paddle, swim, snowshoe, ski, or just gaze upon your favorite lake, A Lakeside Companion will deepen your appreciation for the forces that shape lakes and the teeming life in and around them.

You'll discover the interconnected worlds of a lake: the water; the sand, gravel, rocks, and muck of the bottom; the surface of the lake; the air above; and the shoreline, a belt of land incredibly rich in flora and fauna. Explained, too, are the physical, biological, and chemical processes that determine how many and what kinds of fish live in the lake, which plants grow there, the color and clarity of the water, how ice forms in winter and melts in spring, and much more. Useful advice will help you look out for your lake and advocate for its protection.

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9780299320089
Publisher: University of Wisconsin Press
Publication date: 09/11/2018
Sold by: Barnes & Noble
Format: eBook
Pages: 224
File size: 6 MB

About the Author

Ted J. Rulseh writes the newspaper column "The Lake Where You Live" and is active in lake-advocacy organizations, including the Wisconsin Citizen Lake Monitoring Network. The editor and publisher of several books on the Great Lakes region, he is the author of On the Pond: Lake Michigan Reflections. He lives in the lake-rich region of northeastern Wisconsin.

Table of Contents

Preface           
Acknowledgments     
 
1. Basics         
Putting in the pier      
How the glaciers did their work        
How precious is water?          
It’s all connected       
The impact of landscape position      
Your lake is not an island      
How lakes get their water      
How long does your lake’s water stay?         
In the zone     
Stories in sediment: Paleolimnology  
Trophic status—one way to classify lakes     
That all-important oxygen      
Your lake has layers   
Thin soup       
It all starts with the sun         
How clear is your lake?          
The color of water      
Light in the water      
Wave energy  
Your lake has a “skin”
How acid or alkaline is your lake?     
The nitrogen cycle      
How phosphorus behaves      
How to know your lake better than almost everyone
 
2. Fins
Fish anatomy: How they’re built       
Fish behavior: How they act and survive      
Angling interludes     
Species we treasure    
 
3. Frozen        
The lake in autumn     
Closing time   
Smoke on the water   
The lid goes on           
The hard work of freezing     
Here’s why lakes don’t freeze solid  
Why won’t moving water freeze?     
The glass-bottomed boat        
Oxygen and temperature       
Just you and the otter
Who made those tracks in the snow?
Amazing ice   
Why is it slippery?     
An icy hurdle finally cleared 
How much weight can it hold?          
If you fell through     
Crystal candles           
To the new year         
Late ice          
The lake unveiled       
What a difference a few days make  
Daylight Saving Time
 
4. Creatures    
The ring of life           
Zooplankton   
Snapping turtles         
Painted turtles: Here’s why they bask           
Bats: Night shadows  
Clams and mussels: Not just stationary objects         
Dragonfly riot
Fresh live bait 
Damselflies: Glow sticks with wings 
Fishing spiders           
Frogs: Players in the band      
Tadpoles and pollywogs        
Meet the muskrat       
Water striders: Row, row, row your bug       
Crayfish: Freshwater lobsters
Travels etched in snow          
Mayflies: Up from the bottom           
Midges: Those little white flies          
Water snake: Slippery, stealthy, unnerving, harmless
Whirligig beetles: Can’t catch this!    
 
5. Feathers      
Any day, any season  
Hooded merganser: With a “broken wing”   
Duckling survival       
Eagle efficiency         
Fish hawk       
Great blue heron        
Kingfisher: What’s that rattle?          
Wood ducks   
Common mergansers: Two pair         
Swallows: Master aviators     
Loons: Crown jewels of the lake       
 
6. Greenery    
Why do we call them weeds?
How water plants spread       
Amazing algae
Pondweeds: Forests of the lakes       
Fishermen’s friend: Large-leaf pondweed     
Northern blue flag: A beauty to behold         
Milfoils: They’re not all invasive       
Duckweeds: Free floaters      
Three kinds of pads   
Hearts and arrows: Pickerelweed and arrowhead     
What’s the rush?        
Coontail conundrum  
Wild celery     
Bladderworts: Carnivorous vegetables          
 
7. Caring        
180.5 acres     
Water quality: What’s it worth?        
Dark at night: What a concept!          
Taking care of the fish           
Getting warmer          
The best gift you can give your lake  
Who owns the waters?           
A salty dilemma         
The wood makes it good       
If the bad guys were bigger   
Who looks out for your lake?
Teaching kids to love the lake
If everybody did        
Blazes of glory           
 
Suggested Readings  
Index 
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