From the Lakeside to the Lab
LAKEWATCH's Role in Freshwater Education at UF
By Gretchen Lescord, Florida LAKEWATCH Director
Many of our volunteers and collaborators are familiar with LAKEWATCH’s research impact, which includes mentoring and supporting graduate students. But did you also know that LAKEWATCH has a long history of teaching undergraduate students as well?
LAKEWATCH’s role in teaching began with founder Dr. Dan Canfield, who taught at the University of Florida (UF) for over 40 years. His Introduction to Fisheries Science course is well known in the state, and many local government employees who work on freshwater management and conservation took his course during their early career. You can read quotes from some of these alumni and more about Dr. Canfield’s love of teaching in our recent memorial article celebrating his career.
The LAKEWATCH program has been essential to the hands-on field labs that the Introduction to Fisheries Science course is known for. Since 1988, these students have participated in research on Lake Alice, a small eutrophic system located on the UF campus. While they get to practice important field skills in these labs, the class also generates long-term data on the lake’s water chemistry and Florida bass population. These data have even been used in a peer-review publication, lead by now data manager for LAKEWATCH, Marina Schwartz.
These hands-on experiences continue to this day, with current LAKEWATCH director, Dr. Gretchen Lescord, now leading the course. Students still spend 6 weeks on Lake Alice, sampling its water, invertebrates, and fish, with help from the broader LAKEWATCH program.
In 2024, Dr. Lescord has also expanded the experiential learning within the course to include lab work and data analysis. The students visit the LAKEWATCH analytical facility, where they learn to process their water samples and analyze fish for mercury levels using our state-of-the-art equipment and alongside our lab staff and graduate students. After, they learn to responsibly manage all the data they generate in both the field and lab. In fact, many learn how to code for the first time, using common approaches necessary for modern fisheries and aquatic research.
As of 2025, this course has been re-named to Introduction to Freshwater Fisheries Science, a small but meaningful change that highlights the importance of fish in our lakes and rivers.
Keep an eye out for our next Ask the Expert column, where we will feature some of the 2025 students, who also learned how to find quality scientific information on various questions you’ve had on freshwater ecosystems within Florida and beyond!
New Coordinator Regions
Who you gonna call?
Our survey is still open!
Your commitment to our program is impressive and we want to learn more! We have sent out a survey about your experiences with the LAKEWATCH program and your perspectives on our work. Your results will help us better understand our volunteer’s needs and recruit the next generation of LAKEWATCHers! They will also help us inform other citizen science programs that may struggle to recruit or maintain their volunteers as well.
Everyone on our mail list has received a unique link to complete their survey. If you can't find your link, please email Dr. Liz Moreau to request one, duermite@ufl.edu. We will also have paper copies available at our annual meetings throughout the year, if you prefer.
This issue we are premiering a 'Behind the Scenes' series for our Ask the Experts column! In this series we will dive into aspects of LAKEWATCH that you may not think to ask about, but that give you a greater understanding of what we do behind the scenes...
Behind the Scenes
Navigating the Permitting Process for LAKEWATCH Research
By Regional Coordinator, Mo Bennett
I’m sure most readers are familiar with LAKEWATCH’s activities with water quality monitoring across the state. We lean heavily on our volunteers to make our reach as wide as possible. What may be less familiar are LAKEWATCH’s teaching and research activities. LAKEWATCH faculty and staff instruct multiple courses throughout the year on UF campus (see teaching article in this issue), mentor a growing number of graduate students, perform contracted fish surveys, and are expanding mercury sampling statewide. Much of the legwork for these activities involve tasks you would expect like planning our sampling schedule and locations, conducting experiments and surveys in the field and lab, and analyzing the data. One aspect of this process that you might not be aware of is the regulatory and permitting approvals required to begin activities with fish.
Federal law mandates that any institution that uses vertebrate animals, like fish, for scientific research must have an Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) to oversee the treatment and welfare of those animals. This includes laboratory, agriculture, and wild animals. At the University of Florida, the IACUC is run by a team within the institution and is made up of veterinarians, research staff, and other members with diverse backgrounds. Before LAKEWATCH can begin any research work with fish, we must write and submit a thorough IACUC protocol application that explains all covered activities being performed. In this application, we describe the experiment, the procedures we’d like to use, and the number of fish we plan to handle; all in great detail. The review process ensures that the animal’s welfare is being considered and that all regulations are being followed. Once approved, we are held to the procedures we have stated in our protocol.
At the time of writing this article, LAKEWATCH has four active IACUC protocols. We have a teaching protocol related to how we handle fish in our fisheries classes, and three experimental protocols covering a graduate student’s master’s work along with contracted fish survey projects we have ongoing. The details of each are a little too much for this article; however, we follow specific rules related to how we capture, hold, measure/work up, and if need be, humanely euthanize fish. We are also capped on the number of individuals of each fish species we are allowed to euthanize; which we only do when necessary for specific experiments such as mercury sampling or stable isotope work. All other fish are measured, recorded, and returned to the water unharmed
Our equipment is inspected twice a year by the IACUC to ensure it is in good working order and provides appropriate conditions for holding fish. All members of LAKEWATCH receive training mandated by the IACUC and have to keep that training up to date to remain in good standing. IACUC protocol approval is valid for three years at a time; after which a review process takes place if renewal is warranted.
We are also required to obtain a yearly Scientific Collectors Permit from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC). At the end of each year, we provide our FWC regional biologist with data on all fish lethally collected during that year and request permission for specific activities planned for the upcoming year. This keeps FWC in the loop with all of our research while allowing them to keep track of how many fish were euthanized throughout the year. If you’ve ever seen us out on a lake electrofishing and wondered how we’re allowed to do that; this permit is the answer!
LAKEWATCH in the News!
Earlier this year we released our first ever Annual Report for 2024, which you can view in our last newsletter, on our website, or pick up a copy at your local regional meeting!
“Long-term data sets such as LAKEWATCH’s database are invaluable for understanding how Florida’s lakes are changing over time as our state populations grow and urbanize.”
—Michael Andreu, Ph.D., associate professor and extension coordinator, UF School of Forest, Fisheries, and Geomatics Sciences
Links
A student journalist for the Sanford Harold also wrote about our program and Regional Coordinator, Natalie Anderson, who trained her.
Please Welcome New LAKEWATCH Personnel
This issue we would like to introduce you to several new staff and students that have joined us at LAKEWATCH. We'll return with a Volunteer Highlight in the next issue!
Celine Lajoie
Dr. Celine Lajoie is a postdoctoral fellow at Florida LAKEWATCH. Her research is focused on understanding the properties of Floridian aquatic ecosystems that influence the movement of contaminants, like mercury, through their food webs.
Growing up in Southern Ontario, on the shores of Lake Erie, Celine developed a strong interest in understanding aquatic ecosystems and how they are impacted by human activities. This led her to complete a PhD at McMaster University where she studied how disturbances such as forestry affected mercury dynamics in boreal stream food webs.
Celine spends most of her free time outdoors on nature trails-hiking, running, and/or bird watching.
You can contact Celine at celinelajoie@ufl.edu
Mack Leverock
Mack is going into his junior year at the University of Florida as a marine science major. Born and raised in Florida, he has spent his life on the water. Although his intended focus of study is saltwater, he is finding a home at LAKEWATCH in the field of limnology. As an intern, Mack’s main objective is to examine the mercury levels in the fish of Bell Lake in Pasco County and develop a mercury report for stakeholders. Mack also assists graduate students with their various projects and helps other LAKEWATCH staff with cleaning bottles for sampling. He intends to pursue a Master of Science and PhD in Marine Science to spend the rest of his career working with saltwater fish in the Pacific Northwest.
Josh Johnson
Joshua Johnson is a LAKEWATCH lab and extension assistant. He is responsible for cleaning and sorting glassware, cleaning water bottles, preparing sample packs, preparing filter packs, sorting data sheets, organizing chlorophyll samples, as well as performing any odds-and-ends that need to be accomplished across the lab. Additionally, he performs pick-ups at several of our volunteer drop-off points for water samples.
Josh was born in Charleston, South Carolina and moved to Florida from California in 2014. He completed his bachelor's in Biology in 2024 at the University of Florida, and he is currently preparing to apply to grad school. In his free time, Josh enjoys creative writing and drawing.
You can contact Josh at joshuajohnson1@ufl.edu
American Eel
Scientific name: Anguilla rostrata
Written by Regional Coordinator, Dan Willis
The American Eel is the only native freshwater eel species found in North America. It has a snake-like appearance with an elongated body that has a very long dorsal fin and anal fin that are connected. It also has a pectoral fin. Adults are yellowish brown with a pale belly. The American Eel is catadromous, which means it spends most of its life in freshwater (mainly rivers) or estuaries but migrates out to the ocean (Sargasso Sea in the north Atlantic) to spawn.
They go through unique life cycle in which they can live from 5 to around 40 years. After the adult’s spawn in the ocean the eggs hatch into larvae and drift with the currents to the coast. Once they reach a freshwater river system along the coast, they metamorphose into a small glass eel (3 - 4 inch in length, semitransparent eel). As the glass eel swims up the river it then morphs into a pencil eel or elver (3 – 9 inches in length). It continues move up the river until it finds suitable habitat and there it will mature into a yellow eel. When the adult eel is sexually mature and ready to spawn, it will stop eating and is then called a silver eel (silver in color). It will return to the ocean to spawn. It is believed they die after spawning.
Habitat: They like to hide during the day under tree debris or stumps in the water and dense aquatic plant beds close to shore. At night is when they like to hunt for food.
American Eels are fished for by anglers and there is a commercial fishery for the American Eel. A commercial eel fisher in the state of Florida must have an American Eel Permit and a commercial fishing license. Reporting harvest is mandatory for holding the permit.
There are some other species that can be misidentified as the American Eel. In the state of the Florida, we have 2 invasive eels known as the Asian and Cuchia swamp eels (Monopterus species and Ophichthys cuchia). However, they do not have fins and can air breathe. There is also Amphiuma (Amphiuma species). It has front and hind legs (no fins). Then there is the Siren (Siren species). They have small front legs and external gills.
- Diet: They feed on crustaceans, frogs, insects, worms and other fish species.
- Distribution in the US: American Eels are found along the Gulf Coast from Texas to the Florida and the East Coast of the United States (Florida to Maine).
- More information: FWC
Purple Gallinule
Scientific Name: Porphyrio martinicus
Written by Florida LAKEWATCH Jr. Regional Coordinator, Natalie Anderson
The Purple Gallinule is one of Florida’s most eye-catching wetland birds, with its vivid plumage and curious nature. This medium-sized rail is known for its iridescent purple-green-blue feathers, bright red and yellow bill, and long yellow legs with oversized toes that allow it to walk across floating vegetation. Males and females both have colorful plumage, though the feathers of males are more vivid.
Purple Gallinules are commonly found in freshwater marshes, swamps, and the vegetated edges of lakes and ponds. They are excellent swimmers, often seen ground gleaning among lily pads and other aquatic plants. Unlike ducks, they lack webbed feet, and instead use their long, slender toes to grab onto reeds, making them skilled climbers.
These birds typically build their nests on thick mats of aquatic plants near the water’s edge, weaving reeds and grasses into floating platforms. Both parents share in parental care, taking turns to incubate the eggs and feed the chicks. Hatchlings are born covered in black down and are ready to swim shortly after hatching.
If you’re hoping to spot a Purple Gallinule, try visiting Paynes Prairie Preserve State Park or Sweetwater Wetlands Park in Gainesville or a local wetland near you. Early mornings are best, especially during the spring and summer breeding season when their colors are most vibrant.
- Fun fact: Baby gallinules have tiny spurs on their wings, which help them climb and hold onto vegetation. Check out this Instagram reel by dailybirdshow to see what they look like: https://www.instagram.com/reel/DGiWJGCx2l6/
- Diet: They are omnivorous, eating seeds, fruits, insects, snails, and small fish.
- Threats: Habitat loss due to wetland drainage, pollution, and invasive plant species. Note, that while invasive plants like water hyacinth and hydrilla are problematic for many aquatic birds, Purple Gallinules have adapted to use them as a food source and nesting habitat.
- Recovery: Status listed as Least Concern under IUCN Red List. Protected under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act.
- More Information: Audubon, Cornell Lab of Ornithology
Reminders
Broken Bottles
The LAKEWATCH Lab has been receiving nutrient bottles that are in rough shape. These are the smaller bottles that you fill and freeze each time you sample. We reuse these bottles for as long as possible to save money for the program and keep as many lakes in the program as we can. Please follow the tips below to help us keep using these nutrient bottles:
- Please do not write on the bottles. Make sure to write on the labels only.
- Don't overfill them. The water expands as it freezes and will crack the bottles.
- Be careful when handling frozen bottles as they can crack easily.
Please complete your data sheet!
You work hard for your data so don't forget the little things. Data sheets without sampling and filtering times and dates must be entered with "qualifiers", which means they won't be as useful to DEP and researchers. In fact, they may not be able to be entered into DEP's Watershed Information Network at all.
The LAKEWATCH newsletter is edited by Dr. Liz Moreau. You can reach out with questions, comments, or feedback at duermite@ufl.edu