Doug Jensen
Exotic Species Expert

Until I was ten years old, I grew up in Minneapolis, Minnesota. It was there that I began studying the ant hills that formed between the patio blocks in our back yard. It was also about the same time that a friend of mine, who was really into biology, gave me a caterpillar which I grew into an adult Eastern Tiger Swallowtail butterfly. It was so cool! The writing was on the wall that I'd really get into biology.

Later, we moved to the country near a small town in east central Minnesota. Here, I joined 4-H and not unexpectedly entered the entomology, conservation, and forestry projects. There was hardly ever a time when I was out riding my bike on our gravel road in front of our house that I was without my jar and net to collect specimens for my insect collection. I continued to take biology and science-related classes throughout high school. I also played clarinet in band, softball, varsity basketball, and track.

In college, I studied biology and chemistry, but also played in marching and concert bands. I remember it was a fun way to see all of the home football and basketball games for free. I planned to take two years of biology undergraduate courses at the University of Minnesota Duluth, then transfer into an entomology program at another university. However, I took an aquatic macroinvertebrate class (that's water bugs) that enticed me to get a degree in biology with a concentration in aquatics. This coursework helped me land a job at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Lab in Duluth. There, I studied the effects of pollution in the laboratory and field experiments on fish, invertebrates, and plants. I got to study all kinds of critters from wetlands, streams, rivers, and Lake Superior.

Then, I made sort of a career change. I am the Exotic Species Information Center Coordinator for the University of Minnesota Sea Grant Program in Duluth. The Center serves as a clearinghouse to the public and agencies for exotic species research and outreach information. The career change was a natural one for me because of my research on pollution. It lent itself very well to my work on invasive exotic species, sometimes called "biological pollution." Often, I am asked to lecture or give presentations across the country to educate people on how we can work together to prevent the spread of nasty aquatic plants and animals. The good news is that we are preventing the spread because the word is getting out! I like my work because we are protecting the environment from invaders, that unlike chemical pollution, can last forever once introduced to places where they don't belong. I never thought that talking to ants on my backyard patio as a kid would lead me to this kind of work.

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