PELLSTON, Mich. — The University of Michigan Biological Station was full of scientists and students immersed in robust field activity throughout diverse ecosystems this spring.

From taking samples in rivers and lakes to climbing a research tower and line dancing along Douglas Lake, scroll through 125 community highlights from May through the end of June at the research and teaching campus.

Laboratories and cabins are tucked into more than 10,000 forested acres in Pellston, located about 20 miles south of the Mackinac Bridge.

Photo captions also give context to the enlightening visits from distinguished guest speakers.

The U-M Biological Station — the largest of U-M's campuses — is one of the nation's largest and longest continuously operating field research stations.

Founded in 1909, the Biological Station supports long-term research and education. It is where students and scientists from across the globe live and work as a community to learn from the place.

The University of Michigan Biological Station serves as a gathering place to learn from the natural world, advance research and education, and inspire action. We leverage over a century of research and transformative experiences to drive discoveries and solutions to benefit Michigan and beyond.

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Rise and shine! UMBS Maintenance Supervisor Renee Kinney captured the beauty of sunrise on Thursday, May 15 — stillness coupled with colorful excitement along the Douglas Lake shoreline and sky.
Ruby Howard, the UMBS garden steward and a member of the kitchen staff for the 2025 field season, put the finishing touches on her drawing using a dry-erase marker on a whiteboard leading up to the dining hall. UMBS Operations Specialist Jumanah Saadeh, who took the photo, said, “Ruby is a phenomenal artist.”
Piping Plovers have returned to the Great Lakes in good numbers — including a 16-year-old female, the oldest plover on record, according to Dr. Francie Cuthbert, a UMBS researcher from the University of Minnesota who started the intensive plover recovery, captive rearing and re-release program more than 30 years ago at the University of Michigan Biological Station. The photo is from the National Park Service where the bird was spotted at Sleeping Bear Dunes. The team effort involves rescuing abandoned eggs on Great Lakes beaches, hatching and raising baby birds, and tracking their migrations after release. The progress made over the decades by the dedicated people working to save this endangered shorebird species from extinction gives us hope for conservation success.
The 2025 Michigan Road Scholars Tour stopped at UMBS during their five-day exploration of the state and its rich tapestry of culture, history and public affairs. Pictured, UMBS Associate Director Karie Slavik talked with U-M faculty and administrators on May 7 in the newly renovated dining hall about academic programming and research activities at the campus in Pellston that consists of more than 10,000-forested acres surrounded by lakes and rivers. They discussed ways to develop connections between their work in Ann Arbor and the field research station in northern Michigan.
Mira Hughes jumped and danced with a broom outside her cabin to celebrate her return to UMBS Tuesday, May 20. The 21-year-old is a double major at U-M in Program in the Environment (PitE) and the Stamps School of Art and Design. She is the 2025 CLEAR Fellow.
Nick Holcomb, who will be a senior at the University of Michigan in the fall, unpacks his belongings during spring term move-in day at UMBS Tuesday, May 20.
Destiny Peterson, right, a UMBS student, was dropped off for the spring term by her grandparents Karen and Brian on Tuesday, May 20.
Dr. Aimée Classen, UMBS director and a professor in the U-M Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, welcomed students taking courses during the 2025 spring term on Tuesday, May 20, in Gates Lecture Hall.
UMBS student Mikel Vaughan-Coston, right, a senior at U-M studying ecology and evolutionary biology, talked with Dr. Paul Moore, a UMBS course instructor and researcher from Bowling Green State University, after the first seminar in the 2025 UMBS Summer Lecture Series on Wednesday, May 21.
“Aquatic animals are leaky bags of chemicals,” said Dr. Paul Moore, a UMBS course instructor and researcher from Bowling Green State University, during the summer lecture on Wednesday, May 21, titled “A Life Aquatic: 40 Years Revealing the Underwater World of Odors.” Choosing to eat food or whether to mate, for example, comes down to a fish determining, “What’s that smell?”
In his talk, Moore discussed discoveries made through research at the UMBS Stream Lab. He’s learned that chemical signals are unseen drivers of behavior and ecology. “One of the biggest myths people have about chemical signals is that they get stronger towards the source. They don't,” Moore said.
It’s a blurred line between smell and taste in the aquatic world, Moore said, as fish get rid of waste across their skin/gills and have taste receptors covering their body — like a “swimming tongue.” With chemicals everywhere, fish use the chemical signals. Moore said crayfish are great to use for these studies — they’re “a walking nose and tongue.” (Humans smell; crayfish flick. Humans hide body odor with scented shampoo or deodorant; crayfish are honest with chemical signals.)
Solely from chemical cues, Moore said, crayfish can determine the presence or absence of predators, the size of the predator, the number of predators, the distance and direction to the predator, the diet of the predator, and the hunger level of the predator.
Moore said crayfish “urine” contains information on species, sex, reproductive status, social status, fight history and personal history.
Matt Hack, a U-M Ph.D. student researcher stationed at the University of Michigan Biological Station for the last three years during breeding season, held a Dark-eyed Junco in the woods at UMBS as part of songbird migration research. His team deploys and successfully recaptures lightweight geolocators on a suite of migratory songbirds that breed in the boreal forests.
Dr. Becky MacKay taught her General Ecology lab class on pontoon boats in Douglas Lake's North Fishtail Bay on Friday, May 23.
Sydni Smith, a senior at U-M, used the rake method to gather aquatic plants and insects from Douglas Lake as part of her General Ecology Lab class on Friday, May 23.
Students used the rake method to gather aquatic plants, or macrophytes, from the bottom of Douglas Lake and examine the ecology under us.
Liam McFarland, right, who will be a senior at U-M in the fall, shows course instructor Becky MacKay the amphipod he found in the macrophytes he scooped from the bottom of the lake.
The class discovered aquatic insect larvae amidst the macrophytes. MacKay told the students this is a mayfly larvae, which hasn’t yet developed wings.
When the rake method wasn't working to gather a specific aquatic plant Dr. Becky MacKay wanted to show her class, she jumped into Douglas Lake to grab it with her own hands. According to the UMBS Buoy Dashboard, the water temperature was 56.2 degrees Fahrenheit on May 23. Pictured, MacKay holds up Potamogeton richardsonii, commonly known as Richardson's pondweed.
On the first day of classes, students in one of the General Ecology Lecture courses explored Indian Point Memorial Forest, learning about different abiotic and biotic aspects of the environment. Pictured on Thursday, May 22, from left, U-M senior Benjamin Thaler, U-M junior Sawyer Cowles, U-M junior Lindsey Gleason and Ohio State University junior Sarah Bungard.
Sarah Bungard, a junior at Ohio State University, drew different parts of the ecosystem at Indian Point Memorial Forest as part of her first assignment on Thursday, May 22, in the General Ecology Lecture course. Instructor Paul Moore told the students, "This is the closest thing you can get to an old growth forest in the Lower Peninsula."
Trillium in bloom at Indian Point Memorial Forest
Some students in the Ecology Lecture class wore waders as they gathered snails from Douglas Lake on Tuesday, May 28.
U-M sophomore Alexa Hoogenstyn showed her haul of snail samples to count and mark.
The class gathered samples to test the snail population size.
U-M sophomore Janet Larios painted and marked snails from Douglas Lake as part of a class assignment to predict the population size of snails.
Dr. Becky MacKay took her General Ecology lab class to Tahquamenon Falls State Park on Saturday, May 24.
U-M sophomore Lanie Shrum used her phone to record underwater currents at the Upper Falls in Tahquamenon Falls State Park on Saturday, May 24.
Students found a plant called Jack-in-the-pulpit (Arisaema triphyllum) growing in the Lower Falls of Tahquamenon Falls State Park on Saturday, May 24.
U-M sophomore Lanie Shrum is all smiles at Tahquamenon Falls with her Ecology Lecture class on Saturday, May 24.
Undergraduate students in the new “Observation and Modeling of Climate Change Biology” course at the University of Michigan Biological Station built a flux tower along Douglas Lake on Tuesday, May 27, to measure atmospheric data and environmental conditions.
From the wiring to the instrumentation, students worked together under the guidance of course instructor Dr. Gil Bohrer, pictured, to get everything balanced, secure and operational.
Sarah Bungard, a UMBS student and a junior at Ohio State University studying ecological engineering, built a flux tower with her UMBS class on May 27.
The portable flux tower will stand along the shoreline at UMBS outside Stockard Lakeside Lab for two weeks. This is the view of the students' flux tower at 6:15 a.m. on Friday, May 30. Photo from Renee Kinney, UMBS maintenance supervisor.
Dr. Aimée Classen, director of the U-M Biological Station and a professor in the U-M Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, introduced the Summer Lecture Series speaker on Wednesday, May 28, in Gates Lecture Hall. Dr. Scott Koenigbauer, a fish biologist with the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service at the Alpena Conservation Office, gave a talk titled, "Restoration Toward Robust Native Fisheries in Saginaw Bay, Lake Huron.”
Dr. Scott Koenigbauer, right (in the blue polo), an alumnus of UMBS, talked with students outside at the Chatterbox after his talk on May 28. Koenigbauer discussed multiagency efforts to restore degraded rock reef spawning habitat and re-establish a once abundant native mesotrophic fish, cisco (Coregonus artedi). He talked about the effects of invasive species, historic logging practices and industrial pollution. Part of his work is increasing the habitat diversity in the area through projects like Coreyon Reef – an artificial reef that was installed into Saginaw Bay through the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative. “We found both whitefish and walleye quickly adapted to the environment,” Koenigbauer said. Where fish often take around a decade to adopt new environments, he said the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service saw higher egg deposition within six years of installment. “The fact we’re seeing this so soon is amazing,” Koenigbauer said.
Ruby Howard works in the community garden. Howard is the garden steward and a member of the kitchen staff for the 2025 field season. Join her on Tuesdays at 6 p.m. and Sundays at 10 a.m. Howard will provide music and lemonade while volunteers get their hands dirty and help cultivate food and community.
Alex Risdil, a senior at Loyola University of Chicago, helps weed the garden at the University of Michigan Biological Station during a ‘garden party’ on Tuesday, May 28.
Mike Rutkofske from the U-M grounds crew in Ann Arbor led a chainsaw safety training class at UMBS on Thursday, May 28, so volunteers can help clear trails blocked by fallen branches after the severe ice storm in late March.
Dale Covy is a veterinarian from Ohio who has a home on Douglas Lake. He is a member of the UMBS Stewards, the volunteer corps of UMBS friends and neighbors formed in the late ‘90s to help the field research station with property management projects. He attended the chainsaw safety training on May 28
Mikayla Misiak, the science communications intern for the 2025 field season and a UMBS alumna, practiced using a chainsaw at UMBS under the guidance of Mike Rutkofske from the U-M grounds crew in Ann Arbor on May 28.
Pink lady slipper in a UMBS forest
The Douglas Lake Improvement Association (DLIA) shared this photo of a loon chick on the artificial nesting platform in Maple Bay taken on Friday, May 30, at 8:30 a.m., 21 hours after hatching.
Ethnobotany students harvested Labrador tea leaves at Rexton Bog to make tea at the Ethnobotany Dinner, which also is called a “Foraging Feast.” Photo from Isabella Shehab, teaching assistant for the Ethnobotany course.
Isabella Shehab, a teaching assistant at UMBS, also provided this photo of Labrador tea leaves harvested by Ethnobotany students. According to the book Naajimiijimedaa! (Let’s Find Food!) by Kathy Kae (an introduction to foraging and family recipes from the Burt Lake Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians), Labrador tea (Mashkiigobagaaboo) is a bush that usually grows up to two feet tall. To identify the plant, look for little hairs along the branches. The leaves are green on top, while the undersides are rust-colored and quite fuzzy. It smells like a spicy tea. The book advises careful identification: “Avoid confusing this plant with Bog Laurel or Bog Rosemary, both of which are poisonous.”
With the Mackinac Bridge in the background, students in the Ethnobotany course interacted with Iris Lacustris (Dwarf Lake Iris), a state threatened species. Photo from Isabella Shehab, teaching assistant for the Ethnobotany course.
Iris Lacustris (Dwarf Lake Iris), a state threatened species. Photo from Isabella Shehab, teaching assistant for the Ethnobotany course.
Two ecology classes — led by UMBS course instructors Dr. Corrine Monks and Dr. Kevin Henson — took a joint trip to the Maple River on Monday, June 2.
UMBS students Macy Arnett and Danielle Agyemang in Dr. Kevin Henson’s General Ecology Lecture course sampled the Maple River for macroinvertebrates on Monday, June 2.
Carrying a large net and a tray, UMBS student Karla Bonilla walked down the Maple River on June 2.
Leisa Thompson, left, a senior photographer from Michigan Photography in the U-M Office of the Vice President for Communications, drove up from Ann Arbor to accompany UMBS classes in the field on June 2. Leisa took photos of students in the General Ecology Lecture examining a native lamprey living in the Maple River.
Students in the General Ecology Lab course led by Dr. Corrine Monks used a soil corer to take a soil core sample and examine its makeup at the Maple River confluence as part of their final project on June 2.
Students in the General Ecology Lab got up close and personal with swallowtail butterflies along the Maple River on June 2.
A meeting of swallowtail butterflies along the Maple River on June 2.
Dr. Corrine Monks, instructor of the General Ecology Lab course, held a swallowtail butterfly as Leisa Thompson, a senior photographer from Michigan Photography in the U-M Office of the Vice President for Communications, took photos.
U-M senior Kenya Hall used binoculars to spot and identify different species of birds at Wilderness State Park on Tuesday, June 3, with the Field Ornithology class. In addition to bluebirds and cedar waxwings, Kenya spotted her favorite type of birds: vultures.
Dr. Jordan Price, far right, and students in his Field Ornithology class looked for birds at Wilderness State Park on June 3.
U-M senior Aubrey L. sat on the shoreline of Lake Michigan, studying different bird species and calls as part of the Field Ornithology class on June 3.
Students in the Field Ornithology class identified different species of birds and enjoyed the beauty of the Lake Michigan shoreline on June 3.
Sand Cherry (Prunus Pumila) blooming on the shoreline of Wilderness State Park.
U-M senior Eva Prouty used a stationary binocular set to look at bluebirds in Wilderness State Park on June 3.
During breaks from spring courses and research, it’s game time at the University of Michigan Biological Station.
Students and faculty play volleyball on the court outside the administrative building after dinner on June 4.
A group of staff, interns and students play games on the beach along Douglas Lake.
“The very nature of sex is still mysterious, very fluid and we’re still trying to understand it,” said Dr. Timothy James during the Summer Lecture Series talk on Wednesday, June 4, titled “What Can We Learn About Sex from Studying Fungi?” James teaches the Field Mycology course at UMBS and is a professor of ecology and evolutionary biology at the University of Michigan and the curator of fungi at the University Herbarium in Ann Arbor.
Dr. Timothy James said that the investigation of sex in fungi teaches us that: 1.5 million or more fungal species show that sex usually doesn’t require sexes; sex speeds up evolution; choosiness evolves in response to unequal contribution to offspring; and sexual identity is fluid and reduces the cost of mate finding.
After the lecture, Dr. Timothy James talked with UMBS students outside at the ice cream social.
Dr. Becky MacKay’s General Ecology Lab class took a group photo at Miners Castle, an iconic viewpoint of Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore along Lake Superior.
UMBS students in the Rivers, Lakes, and Wetlands course looked at young sturgeon in the Black Lake Sturgeon Stream Side Research and Rearing Facility adjacent to the Kleber Dam in Cheboygan County on Friday, May 30.
Dr. Marcin Dziuba, who teaches the Rivers, Lakes and Wetlands course at UMBS during the 2025 spring term and is a postdoctoral fellow in the U-M Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, listened as his class explored the sturgeon rearing facility and learned about the lifecycle of sturgeon and the work that goes into their preservation.
U-M senior Jaden French went down to the Black River hunting for crayfish with their Rivers, Lakes, and Wetlands class on May 30.
Dominick Noeker, a sophomore at the University of Michigan, took photos of Scarlet paintbrush (Castilleja coccinea) to upload to the UMBS community-wide iNaturalist competition. Dominick spotted the plant outside the sturgeon rearing facility on May 30.
Jumanah Saadeh, middle, UMBS operations specialist, served ice cream cake in the dining hall June 9 for Eid al-Adha, the Celebration of the Sacrifice, which marks the end of Hajj and is the second of the two religious holidays celebrated by Muslims.
Pictured from left, Ava Freimark, Karina Chaidec, Lani Volk and Claira Warner. These four UMBS students were some of the winners of the first trivia night at the Biological Station hosted by Dr. Rebecca MacKay on June 11.
Dr. Marcin Dziuba, instructor of the Rivers, Lakes and Wetlands course, celebrated during trivia night June 11.
Congratulations to all of the winners!
An Eastern Tiger Swallowtail butterfly (Papilio glaucus) perched on a lilac tree in Sugar Island Bailey Lagerstrom Nature Preserve on Thursday, June 5, during the “Field Botany” class trip to Sugar Island in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula.
On Friday, June 6, U-M senior Elijah Pineda-Rodriguez used plant presses to press different plants during their overnight stay at Bailey Lagerstrom Nature Preserve at Sugar Island in an effort to make herbarium specimens.
Dr. Susan Fawcett, middle, instructor of the “Field Botany” course, helped U-M senior Emma Bilgreen, left, and U-M graduating senior Katie Kinney key out different plants June 5 on Sugar Island.
U-M sophomore Joelle Morris used plant presses on June 6 to press different plants during their overnight stay at Bailey Lagerstrom Nature Preserve at Sugar Island in an effort to make herbarium specimens.
Dr. Susan Fawcett, instructor of the “Field Botany” course, set up a bug net on June 5 during an overnight excursion to Sugar Island with her class, letting students observe different bug species around the island at night.
UMBS students and instructors in Field Botany took a stroll along the overlook of Carp River on June 5, admiring the blooming apple trees (Malas domestica). From top left to bottom is UMBS course instructor Charles Davis, Loyola University senior Alex Risdal and U-M senior Malachi Cassels.
Frank Zomer, inland fisheries biologist for the Bay Mills Indian Community, gave the Pettingill Lecture in Natural History on June 11, titled “Manoomin – The Good Berry.” Zomer leads the manoomin, or wild rice, restoration program for the tribe. He discussed the importance of manoomin to Anishinaabe people, the history of manoomin in Michigan, reasons for its loss/decline across the state, statewide efforts at restoration and where we are now.
During an ice cream social immediately following his talk, Frank Zoomer, right, and his wife talked with members of the UMBS community. Isabella Shehab, teaching assistant for the Ethnobotany course at UMBS, shares her summary of Zomer's talk: Frank talked about the Bay Mills Indian Community's work to establish manoomin in Waiska Bay in Eastern Lake Superior, right where the lake meets the St. Mary's River. Industrial practices such as logging have destroyed habitat, and cultural connections were intentionally broken through forced assimilation of native children through boarding schools. One story he included was of a Bay Mill's member who had been forced to attend the Mount Pleasant Indian Industrial Boarding School when she was a child, being forced to assimilate into mainstream American culture. While forcibly removed from her culture at a young age, the tribe's efforts to bring back manoomin resulted in the same woman having a chance to participate in the harvest of manoomin before walking on (passing away). He showed her and another older woman in a canoe, finally connecting with manoomin after so many years of disconnect which has really stuck with me. Despite years of seeding manoomin, efforts have been complicated by Canada geese who mow back the plants before they are able to reproduce. As an annual plant, manoomin needs to be able to produce seed in order to grow again in the future so the geese really inhibit the ability of the wild rice to become adequately established to thrive. Nevertheless, Frank said he was committed to reconnecting people with manoomin, so would sow as much seed as necessary each year to allow for that to happen. Additionally, the tribe is working to harvest geese and encourage future harvesting to reduce local populations as he estimates that 90% of the geese return to Waiska Bay each year (i.e. the focus is just on reducing local goose populations). He also conducted research to see whether Common Carp were responsible for disrupting manoomin establishment, but determined ultimately that the geese were most responsible. Finally, laws to protect the rights of manoomin and the people who rely on it are different in Michigan than they are in Wisconsin and Minnesota, so he and others are advocating for laws to change to prevent overharvesting/promote respect/help with further establishment.
U-M rising senior Mira Hughes, left, and Oakland University junior Jackie Scott crossed paths halfway up the UMBS AmeriFlux tower June 11 after going through a three-day training to safely climb one of the most iconic research pieces in the University of Michigan Biological Station catalog.
Dr. John Lenters, left, senior research specialist at UMBS, led a three-day tower safety training class for staff and students June 9-11.
U-M senior Nick Holcomb climbed the AmeriFlux tower as part of his "Observation and Modeling of Climate Change" course on June 11.
U-M senior Maxwell Iseler at the base of the AmeriFlux tower on June 11. The UMBS student in the “Observation and Modeling of Climate Change Biology” class said climbing the research tower helped better understand the carbon data the tower collects. “You can see at which points we arrive at the top of the tower because of the spikes in carbon,” said Iseler, who is studying human origins and behavior (HOB) at U-M. “What John showed us put a lot of what we were learning in class into perspective, both the uptake of carbon throughout the day and the release of water vapor by plants. It was so cool!”
A research team led by Dr. Christine Sprunger at Michigan State University brought in a massive drilling rig from Illinois called a Geoprobe to gather soil core samples at the University of Michigan Biological Station as part of an ongoing study of soil carbon and nematode communities.
Dr. Christine Sprunger, an associate professor of soil health at Michigan State University and interim associate director at the W.K. Kellogg Biological Station (KBS), stood next to the soil core samples gathered on June 17 at UMBS.
The research team used the Geoprobe to take massive soil cores from what are known as the DIRT plots at UMBS on June 17. DIRT is comprised of a global network with more than a dozen sites in North America, Europe and Asia. Other U.S. sites include the University of Wisconsin and Harvard University, among others. The landmark international project was started 20 years ago by Dr. Knute Nadelhoffer, a former UMBS director. At UMBS, the only location in Michigan, researchers steward 27 experimental, 5-by-5-meter plots. They’re partitioned off by combinations of whether they have leaves, roots, wood or fertilizer in the soils, or none of the above.
One of the soil cores gathered by Sprunger's team on June 17 at UMBS.
Nematodes, or microscopic worms, can serve as rapid bio-indicators for soil health, according to Dr. Christine Sprunger from Michigan State University, who also gave the Pettingill Lecture in Natural History at UMBS June 18 while on campus doing research. After the talk, Sprunger spoke with students, researchers, teaching faculty and staff at an ice cream social along Douglas Lake.
In the talk titled “The Long-Term Maintenance of Regenerative Agriculture Enhances Climate Resiliency and Supports Soil Biodiversity,” Sprunger said that while many farmers believe that nematodes are pests or negatively affect agriculture, “the reality is the vast majority of nematodes are really beneficial.”
During the talk in the 2025 Summer Lecture Series, Sprunger said: Nematode communities become more fungal dominated after 30 years, especially in systems with higher plant diversity and perenniality; shifts in soil carbon pools could be responsible for healthier and more complex soil food webs; and nematodes within perennial polyculture systems are more resistant to drought relative to communities in the no-till system.
UMBS held its first line dance party on Saturday, June 14, on the volleyball court.
The line dance was led by Cheryl Wright-Blessett, standing in the middle, who teaches line dancing at branches of the Detroit Public Library and at the Grosse Pointe Public Library.
Some of the dances Wright-Blessett taught included the Cupid Shuffle, Wobble, Flex, Boots On The Ground, and Cowboi Boogie.
UMBS students in the “Conservation Biology in Practice” course explored Bush Bay Trail along Lake Huron in the Upper Peninsula on Wednesday, June 18. The location is affectionately called Narnia. Pictured in the middle of the bottom row is Dr. Mary Jamieson, UMBS course instructor and an associate professor at Oakland University.
From left, “Conservation Biology in Practice” teaching assistant Peter Falb, U-M sophomore Dominick Noeker, and Oakland University senior Elise Perez identify plants throughout Bush Bay Trail June 18.
The field-based course is focused on regional efforts to support biodiversity, reviewing key causes and consequences of species loss, globally and locally. Students also experience conservation in practice, meeting individuals working to protect species and habitats in Michigan, and learning best practices for success.
As part of a service project, UMBS students in the “General Ecology Lab” course taught by Dr. Corrine Monks, pictured in the bottom middle, weeded the UMBS rain garden on June 16 outside Gates Lecture Hall.
U-M senior Elijah Pineda-Rodriguez, left, and Dr. Corrine Monks remove invasive species from the UMBS rain garden on June 16.
U-M senior Molly Jaffe worked with her General Ecology Lab class to remove invasive plants from the UMBS rain garden June 16 as a community service project.
A field of Lance-leaf coreopsis (Coreopsis lanceolata) bloomed at UMBS June 16.
During solar system week at the Nature Day Camp for children at UMBS, projects included baking cookies to decorate them like the planets and mapping constellations. Pictured are 7-year-old Charlie Billau, left, and 9-year-old Hazel Freeman.
“The trajectory says we’re in trouble,” said Dr. Larry Junck, a neurologist studying how brain health is compromised by climate change, during his talk in the Summer Lecture Series on June 25. The researcher and professor emeritus of neurology at the University of Michigan discussed the health effects of climate change and pollution.
“My entire adult life I’ve had a very strong personal belief that we all together need to protect our home — this planet — and care for all of its people,” Junck said. “Health effects of climate change are going to get a lot worse if we don’t work on sustainable energy.”
“Something unexpected emerged in recent years — air pollution is a risk factor for dementia,” Junck said. He broke down the diseases that are increased by air pollution, sharing that it’s second only to hypertension as a risk factor for heart disease and stroke.
“Air pollution is a huge problem now,” Junck said. “The limits we’re exposed to on the best of days are still a concern for us.” He reported that, together, outdoor and indoor air pollution cause about 12% of deaths worldwide. For example, Junck said people living within 100 meters of a major roadway had a 42% higher rate of stroke compared to those who live 400 meters away. “If you’re almost a third of a mile, you’re still exposed to air pollution but you’re not in the highest rate zone of those roadways,” Junck said.
Junck issued a call to action during his lecture. Some suggestions include: 1. Scientists and physicians should use their voices and talk about climate change. 2. Join organizations such as the Citizens Climate Lobby. 3. When it comes to what you eat, reduce the amount of animal-based food and especially beef. Also reduce food waste. 4. Take fewer plane flights. And if you do need to fly, choose a flight without multiple stops. 5. Electrify buildings and transportation with solar and wind energy. 6. Support improvements to the power grid.
After his talk, Larry Junck, MD, right, spoke to researchers and staff outside along Douglas Lake during an ice cream social. Pictured is a conversation with UMBS Operations Specialist Jumanah Saadeh on June 25.
Dr. Larry Junck talked with UMBS Resident Biologist Adam Schubel, left, during the ice cream social on June 25.
Field Ornithology students took the UMBS community on an auditory adventure at Ecopalooza June 19, celebrating what they learned in the class by mimicking a variety of bird songs and encouraging UMBS researchers, staff and other students to guess the bird species.
At the end-of-term celebration, several UMBS students fielded questions during poster presentations in Gates Lecture Hall about what they learned at different field sites including Rexton Bog.
U-M junior Alyssa Stump examined the Ethnobotany class display at Ecopalooza on June 19, admiring the porcupine quill weaving.
Herbarium specimen on display at Ecopalooza June 19. It was collected and pressed by Field Botany student Elijah Pineda-Rodriguez on June 6 near a beaver dam on Sugar Island in the Upper Peninsula.
“It was fun —I have so many nice memories here,” said Chelsea Weber, a U-M sophomore, after she finished moving out of her UMBS cabin on Thursday, June 19, after spending four weeks taking courses during the 2025 spring term at the historic research and teaching campus in northern Michigan.
U-M senior Danielle Agyemang finished drawing a coyote on the door of her cabin before leaving on June 19. “I feel like there's still so much here I want to do!” Agyemang said.
“I’m sad to leave but happy to make all these memories,” said U-M senior Elijah Pineda-Rodriguez outside of his cabin after reminiscing with the friends he made over the course of the spring term.
U-M junior Lucille Gorbe took a last look at the UMBS cabins on June 19 as she carried her last bag to the car. “My time here was very fun. The Biostation is a very artful place, and each person contributes to that art and the story here,” Gorbe said.
Beautiful sunset and relaxing waves along Douglas Lake at the University of Michigan Biological Station on June 24.
Children in the UMBS Nature Day Camp compared soil samples on June 26 from two different gardens—the rain garden and the vegetable garden—by doing soil texture by feel and looking at plant macronutrients. Pictured on the far left is Avril Wiers, who leads the camp.