November Greetings from Douglas Lake!
We have much to be grateful for, including mice. Hear me out — I’m not saying I love it when they scurry across the floor of my cabin! However, these rodents that are prolific in the Northwoods of Michigan are helping scientists and students at UMBS uncover the influence of parasites on the well-being of wild animals and how that trickles down the forest food chain.
Gabi Leon, a junior at U-M who is majoring in ecology and evolutionary biology, held a mouse by the scruff of its neck and said, “I’ve worked with plants before but nothing like this. We’re working directly with moving beings. We got a chipmunk once, which was exciting.” Watch this month’s feature video and read the comprehensive story to meet Gabi and Dr. Amanda Koltz, our new researcher from the University of Texas at Austin whose disease ecology experiment is partially funded by the Stockard Fellowship, which is supported by UMBS donors.
Speaking of the generosity of Biological Station donors, please keep us at the front of your mind as you plan your end-of-year philanthropy. Science and discovery are critical. Our researchers are working to solve some of humanity’s most pressing issues, such as how disease shapes ecosystems. Further, we offer life-changing experiential learning that immerses the next generation of environmental problem solvers in nature and research. Consider giving to the Biological Station Discretionary Fund to support our expansion to year-round educational and research programming. We want to offer “Semesters Up North” in the fall and winter so we can reach more students in Ann Arbor and beyond. Right now, UMBS is home to four-week courses in the spring and summer terms. The time is paramount to invest in our highly successful, rigorous academic and research operations and help us evolve into the field station of the future. Look to Michigan’s field station as we harness the power of our historic place-based understanding and lead the effort to build a more sustainable planet. And it starts with carbon neutrality.
Last month we launched an Alumni Success series. It proved to be wildly popular with our newsletter readers, so this month we’re introducing you to Richard Fidler in Traverse City. The author and retired high school biology teacher said he is “one of very few — or maybe the only one — who has received a master’s degree in biology from the University of Michigan with all courses taken at the Biological Station.” We’re trying to confirm whether he’s the only one, but it’s proving to be a tricky question. In the meantime, read Richard’s poetic reflections on his time at UMBS. (And if you have accomplished his same feat, please email Chrissy Billau, our UMBS storyteller, at cbillau@umich.edu.)
UMBS alumni from the 1970s founded and continue to help fund the CLEAR Fellowship, which provides tuition support, room, board, research fees and supplies at UMBS to students doing applied aquatic research along with public outreach and education — directly involving students in the northern Michigan community. Meet Anna Davies, their living legacy and the 2024 CLEAR Fellow. We’re proud of how the master's student in the U-M School for Environment and Sustainability (SEAS) looked beneath the surface of the beauty of the region’s rivers, lakes and streams to help protect freshwater ecosystems.
We need your help. We’re recruiting students from U-M and universities all over the world to take courses during the 2025 spring and summer terms at UMBS. Please share with your networks that we’re hosting an in-person Information Session in Ann Arbor next week on Tuesday, Nov. 19. The Biological Station also is hosting a virtual Information Session on Zoom at 5 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 5. Registration is required in advance for the Zoom event. Student Ambassadors, recent alumni and staff will introduce prospective students to the historic field station and their experiences here, as well as answer questions about course credits, scholarships and hands-on research opportunities (such as handling and examining mice!).
Thank you for your passion for the Biological Station and our mission. We are grateful for your friendship and continued support.
View the full November 2024 newsletter here, including photos of northern lights that dazzled along Douglas Lake during a solar storm.
Sincerely,
Dr. Aimée Classen
UMBS Director
