Busy Summer 2013

The Aquatic Toxicology Laboratory was busy this summer with several field studies and the resultant flood of samples to be processed in the laboratories.  Here the group poses during one of the brief breaks form the laboratory work :-)

Presentations Spring/Summer 2012

The Aquatic Toxicology Laboratory at St. Cloud State University remains active with multiple scheduled presentations:

Dan Rearick presented the results of his predation trials at the Midwest meeting of the Society of Environmental Toxicology & Chemistry in Minneapolis (March 2012) and at the Minnesota Wastewater treatment Plant Operators meeting (March 2012). Kelsey Lesteberg discussed the timing of sexual differentiation in fathead minnows at the Midwest meeting of the Society of Environmental Toxicology & Chemistry in Minneapolis (March 2012). Dr. Schoenfuss will give a presentation summarizing research on endocrine active compounds at the MN Stormwater Steering Committee meeting in Minneapolis (April 2012) and on Earth Day at the Environmental Learning Center in Spicer, MN. Dan Rearick and Dr. Schoenfuss will attend the American Water Resources Association Meeting on Emerging Contaminants in June in Denver, CO to discuss their respective research projects. Kelsey Lesteberg will present a presentation at the American Fisheries Society Meeting in Minneapolis in August 2012 to review her study on muscle fiber type differentiation in Hawaiian climbing gobioid fishes. Stay tuned - more presentation announcements are sure to follow!

Another Hawaiian Field Season Completed

Dr. Schoenfuss once again visited field sites in Hawai'i during March 2012 to continue his long-term studies of Hawaiian stream ecology. With the help from collaborators from Clemson University, the University of Minnesota, and support from the Division of Aquatic Resources (Department of Land and Natural Resources, State of Hawai'i) another successful field season was completed.

This field season was used to answer questions regarding the physiology of fish muscle that allows for the climbing of tall waterfalls; the ability of prey from different Hawaiian islands to escape predators; and the anatomy of the jaw apparatus as it relates to feeding and climbing in Sicyopterus stimpsoni.

The Lab Presents

2012 is starting out with several gatherings and presentations:

- On January 6th the Aquatic Toxicology Laboratory hosted its annual retreat at Ney Nature Center with almost 30 students and faculty in attendance.

- On February 8, Dr. Schoenfuss spoke at the annual appreciation meeting of the HAwk Creek Watershed Association in Wilmar, MN.

- Dan Rearick and Kelsey Lesteberg will present at the annual meeting of the Midwest Chapter of the Society for Environmental Toxicology & Chemistry on March 21/22, 2012 in Minneapolis, MN.

- Dan Rearick will present on March 23, 2012 at the MPCA Wastewater Operators conference.

- As part of the Earth Day festivities on April 22, 212, Dr. Schoenfuss will give a presentation in Spicer, MN.

Collaborator's Meeting

Dr. Schoenfuss spent some quality time reviewing biological and analytical data in Sacramento, CA. The data will form the foundation of a manuscript describing the complexity of anthropogenically altered ecosystems and will propose approaches suited for these environments.

Chicago Research Trip

A group of 6 faculty and students from the St. Cloud State University Aquatic Toxicology Laboratory spent the week of March 9th in Chicago to conduct field work in collaboration with the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago. The trip was very successful and we return with many specimens for study in the coming months.

Spring 2011 at the Lab

Spring 2011 turned out to be busy at the St. Cloud State University Aquatic Toxicology Laboratory.

Dr. Schoenfuss spent two months in Hawai'i as part of his National Science Foundation funded grant research. For part of the field work, he was accompanied by Jerry Leonard, who was able to gather data for a soon to be submitted manuscript on trail following behavior in Hawaiian stream gobies.

In March, most of the lab travelled to Lake Geneva Wisconsin for the annual meeting of the Midwest Chapter of the Society for Environmental Toxicology & Chemistry (picture above). Six oral presentations were given by lab members (four student presentations, Dr. Schoenfuss, Steve Bartell) and April Dammann was awarded runner-up for best oral presentation at the meeting.

Immediately following the MW SETAC conference, Dr. Schoenfuss presented the keynote address at the MN Wastewater Conference, March 25, 2011 in Brooklyn Park, MN. The four graduate students (Beth Poganski, Jeff Miller, Zach Jorgenson, and April Dammann) also presented. Further seminar presentations by Dr. Schoenfuss at St. Cloud State University and Normandale Community College ("slice of Life" lecture series) followed.

April and May saw three defense presentations by graduate students from the Aquatic Toxicology Laboratory: Jeff Miller defended on April 11, 2011; Zach Jorgenson on April 18, 2011; and Beth Poganski on May 2, 2011.

Another spring dissection trip will bring many lab members together one last time in Chicago in early May.

As many of our students are graduating, two new graduate student recruits will join the lab this summer to carry on research on the effects on contaminants of emerging concerns.