Aquatic Ecology and Fisheries Laboratory

The Aquatic Ecology and Fisheries Laboratory was established at the University of Wisconsin - Green Bay in the Fall of 2011 by Dr. Patrick Forsythe. The University of Wisconsin–Green Bay is a public university in Green Bay, Wisconsin, with regional campuses in Marinette, Manitowoc, and Sheboygan and was founded in 1965. UW-Green Bay was dubbed Eco U ® by Harper’s Magazine and Newsweek in the early 1970s, and since opening in 1968, students have had the opportunity to gain rich field-based experiences, and be part of the "most exciting and promising educational experiment...anywhere." With the world's largest freshwater estuary just moments away from our campus, the AEFL has worked hard over the years to build on the "Eco U" foundation while exploring a broad swath of research questions pertaining to aspects of freshwater aquatic ecology that have regional importance.      

The inaugural research project of the AEFL involved generating a comprehensive benthic map of the entire Sheboygan River using side-scan sonar and was funded by the US Environmental Protection Agency and the Wisconsin DNR. We have since expanded our research activities to understanding the drivers of local fish communities (stream and coastal wetland habitats) and determining the extent of phenotypic plasticity of fish resident in tributaries of Green Bay. We have studied various aspects of lake sturgeon reproduction including larval drift and determined the role that passage plays in lake sturgeon reproductive success within the Menominee River. We have sought to better understand adult lake whitefish migration and ecology and used microchemical techniques to delineate locations of natal production. Our recent work has also described the distribution of benthic macroinvertebrates in Lower Green Bay.

Check out our publication page to see the complete diversity of our research!