When Algae Go Bad
By Dr. Norman Yan In a previous article I argued that “we’d be stupid, hungry, and dead without algae” in the waters of the world, because every other breath…
We Owe Our Lives to Algae
By Dr. Norman Yan The 2014 Muskoka Watershed Report Card was released in May and presents the results of monitoring the health of our watersheds. For the first time…
Muskoka’s Aquatic Invaders
by Norman Yan Olympic medals aren’t the only things that have recently come to Muskoka from the Socchi area. It’s also given us some of our most problematic invading…
Interior Forests: More Important Than You Realize
Natural forests play a large role in maintaining the natural beauty found within Muskoka. We know they convert CO2 into useable oxygen for us to breathe, filter surface and…
Muskoka’s Biodiversity – Part 3: Managing for the conservation of biodiversity
The previous two articles in this series have talked about the importance of biodiversity and how Muskoka’s biodiversity has changed and will continue to change. What can we,…
Muskoka’s Biodiversity – Part 2: A changing environment
Last week’s article talked about biodiversity in Muskoka and why it is important for our environment and economy. Is Muskoka’s biodiversity getting better or worse? A historical…
Muskoka’s Biodiversity – Part 1: Why is it important?
Biological diversity - or biodiversity - is a term used to describe the variety of life on Earth. It refers to the wide variety of ecosystems and living organisms:…
Lakes Part 4: Gloeotrichia
By Dylan Moesker Over the last few weeks in this four part article series, we have been discussing a number of topics that all revolve around lakes. We have…
Lakes Part 3: Why Are Some Lakes Tea-stained?
By Dylan Moesker As we continue to learn more about the types of lakes found in Muskoka, tea-stained lakes still remain a misunderstood topic. These lakes are misunderstood since…
Lakes Part 2: Where Does Phosphorus Come From Within My Lake?
By Dylan Moesker In last week’s article we discussed the trophic status of lakes in Muskoka, different sources of external phosphorus input into a lake, and how phosphorus has…
Lakes Part 1: What Kind of Lake do You Have?
By Dylan Moesker In Muskoka, we are surrounded by pristine lakes that offer a huge variety of recreational opportunities. Some lakes are deep and clear while others are shallow and…
If you ‘Love Your Lake,’ look after it
Do you Love Your Lake? Do you love to sit on the shoreline and look out across the water and see the reflection of trees on the other side?…