Mary Balcer
University of Wisconsin-Superior

Although I grew up on the shore of Lake Superior in Duluth, Minnesota, I never had an opportunity to venture out on the "Big Lake" until the summer of my junior year of high school. That summer I attended a National Science Foundation workshop at the University of Wisconsin-Superior. I spent six weeks working with University scientists out on a research vessel exploring the geology, chemistry, and biology of Lake Superior. I loved this experience so much that I decided to become an aquatic ecologist, even though I couldn't swim.

I earned my bachelor's degree in biology at the University of Wisconsin- Superior and was able to continue to work with research scientists at the University's Lake Superior Research Institute during the four years that it took to earn my degree. I was able to participate in projects that collected fish, aquatic insects, zooplankton, and aquatic plants. I went to the University of Wisconsin in Madison to earn my doctorate degree in zoology, but found that I couldn't stay away from Lake Superior. Every summer I returned to the Duluth-Superior region to work on my thesis research on the effects of smelt predation on the zooplankton population of Lake Superior. As part of my thesis work, I published a taxonomic key to help others learn how to identify the crustatcean zooplankton of the Great Lakes.

Upon completion of my PhD work, I returned to the University of Wisconsin-Superior and have spent the past 17 years doing research on Lake Superior and many of the area's inland lakes and rivers. I am now the chair of the University's Biology Department and Director of the Lake Superior Research Institute. My research interests currently include learning how contamimated sediments affect aquatic organisms and the effects of exotic species, such as the zebra mussel and ruffe, on native populations of fish and zooplankton.

I strongly believe that if people understand what an unique and fragile ecosystem exists in Lake Superior, they will be more willing to protect it. That is why I am trying to give others the same opportunities that I had to learn about this Great Lake. Every year staff at the University of Wisconsin-Superior take over 600 students in grades 2 - 12 out on our research vessel and give them a chance to help scientists collect data on water quality. We also offer aquatic education workshops for students, teachers, and the general public and employ several University students on our current research projects.

Learn about more Bell LIVE! host researchers:

• Mary Balcer, University of Wisconsin-Superior
• Doug Jensen, Exotic Species Expert
• Teresa Norberg King, Environmental Protection Agency
• Don Schreiner, Lake Superior Area Fisheries Advisor, Minnesota Department of Natural Resources
• Nigel Wattrus, Large Lakes Observatory, University of Minnesota