Studying the System

As an academic, research projects are obviously easiest when there is a burning passion to explore the subject of your study--it becomes less work, and more play as the lines between objective research and personal interest overlap and blend, becoming one. However, it is all too easy to begin to see individual research projects as singular tasks: Hypothesis. Experimentation. Results. Engaging in interdisciplinary research helps ensure that the findings of a particular research project are embedded within the context of the broader system.

For our project, Lucia and I are employing qualitative research methods to learn more about how farmers and lakefront property owners in the watershed make decisions about conservation. As someone who loves to chat with people about their lives (while petting their incredible dogs), it is easy to forget that the social and cultural norms of this area exist in tandem with a biological system that is out-of-balance. It's been useful to be conducting our own research in tandem with the other groups who are approaching the broader problem of phosphorus pollution from a different angle.

Naomi and Kirsten have been collecting samples in an effort to explore the implication for the expansion of wild rice beds in the area. By taking samples in the field, the pair hope to measure the amount of phosphorus sequestered in the wild rice plants themselves, as well as deposited in the sediment below. By removing the phosphorus from the water column, wild rice has the potential to reduce the amount of biologically available phosphorus in the water. Phosphorus is a limiting nutrient for cyanobacteria, the smelly blue-green algae that suffocates Lakes Tainter and Menomin in the dog days of August. Because the high levels of phosphorus in both Tainter and Menomin are associated with the harmful algal blooms that plague the residents of Menomonie in the summer, if wild rice indeed sequesters phosphorus significantly, the reintroduction of wild rice beds could be used as a mitigation strategy for the high levels of phosphorus. Naomi and Kirsten's summer project helps frame the work Lucia and I are conducting in an ecological context.


Apart from the academic benefit, being intimately involved in researching the phosphorus problem from multiple angles has been personally enriching. As someone who enjoys talking and transcribing much more than being in a lab, it's been nice to gain some insight into the "harder" side of science. Lucia and I's travels around the water shed these past two weeks have provided some great pictures, I hope you enjoy them as much I did... thanks for reading!