Andrew Rypel
andrewrypel.bsky.social
Andrew Rypel
@andrewrypel.bsky.social

Director of the School of Fisheries, Aquaculture & Aquatic Sciences @ Auburn University https://agriculture.auburn.edu/research/faas/ • 🧪 for Ecosystems, Fish, People & Ag https://sites.google.com/view/rypel-lab/home • ✍️ at TangledNature.com .. more

Environmental science 72%
Geography 18%
Pinned
There was once a massive natural lake in Southern California.

We drained it. Built on it. Forgot it.

Except it didn’t really die.

I hope you can read my new Tangled Nature essay on Tulare Lake, "ghost ecosystems", and the stains landscapes remember.

👉 tnature.substack.com/p/americas-g...
America's Ghost Lake
“Monsters are real, and ghosts are real too.
tnature.substack.com

"The challenge is not whether we manage landscapes but how? Can we learn to work w/ the dominant ecology rather than continually against it? Can we design systems that remain profitable, while leaving a softer footprint on the land? Can we preserve biodiversity?"
tnature.substack.com/p/americas-g...
America's Ghost Lake
“Monsters are real, and ghosts are real too.
open.substack.com

Reposted by Andrew L. Rypel

"...the ghost of Tulare Lake has much more to teach us than its existence alone. Tulare Lake wasn’t drained because it failed. It was drained because it worked, precisely as nature intended." @andrewrypel.bsky.social writes on America's Ghost Lake tnature.substack.com/p/americas-g...
America's Ghost Lake
“Monsters are real, and ghosts are real too.
tnature.substack.com

"Across eras and cultures, we all choose the landscapes and species we are willing to lose. And when we do, we absolve ourselves of the act, usually in the name of progress. But the natural world does not vanish cleanly. It leaves a stain."

tnature.substack.com/p/americas-g...
America's Ghost Lake
“Monsters are real, and ghosts are real too.
tnature.substack.com

Thank you so much! It is an incredibly interesting and unbelievable story. There is so much to learn from it!

Reposted by Andrew L. Rypel

Historical PFAS trends in the Great Lakes using four decades of archived fish.

#GreatLakes 🧪

www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

I have to say. This one took time, but it is one that I've wanted to write on for some time.

Eventually, it felt less like writing, and more like listening to the story of this place. It is an interesting, sad, and (I think) hopeful story. I hope y'all enjoy reading it and learning about the lake.
One of the chief virtues of the book is that it’s nearly the only remaining form of media that isn’t constantly being interrupted by ads. Between the covers is the last place on earth where no one is trying to sell you shit, a place where you can still be a human being rather than a mark.

Reposted by Andrew L. Rypel

Every villain is the hero in their own story and should be written accordingly.

#booksky #bookishquestions #authorsky

Pancake ice!
A chilly Lake Michigan morning.

#GreatLakes

Reposted by Andrew L. Rypel

A chilly Lake Michigan morning.

#GreatLakes

Reposted by Andrew L. Rypel

#ForestFriday 💚
Trees of calm ❄️🤍✨

Happy trails 💫🌲✌️

Reposted by Andrew L. Rypel

Four months of art in review from 2025
Just body art
Untamed Canvas Studio

Reposted by Andrew L. Rypel

Current evidence shows:
More invaders in an ecosystem = greater likelihood that one will be disruptive. Invaders can interact synergistically with each other & with external stressors. Rather than generate resistance, higher invasion rates promote more disruption. link.springer.com/article/10.1...
Do globally increasing invasion rates threaten ecosystem sustainability? - Biological Invasions
Rates of biological invasion are rarely described as a sustainability issue, yet multiple lines of evidence suggest that burgeoning invasion rates cause ecosystems to be less sustainable over time. Fi...
link.springer.com

I honestly thought for a second that this headline said "SAUGERS"

Reposted by Andrew L. Rypel

Since you’re on Bluesky you probably didn’t need another reason to resent the gun lobby, but just in case you were on the fence… it’s killing the loons! (Though we anglers deserve most of the blame tbh.)

Great/frustrating @cestmoilanglois.bsky.social feature. 👇

www.biographic.com/why-are-loon...
Why Are Loons Still Dying from Lead Poisoning?
In the United States, efforts to save a beloved species face pushback from a surprising foe: gun rights advocates.
www.biographic.com

Reposted by Andrew L. Rypel

A travesty really
Is it me, or did the new LinkedIn thumbnail kind of rip off the Secchi Disc?!

Reposted by Silvia Secchi

Is it me, or did the new LinkedIn thumbnail kind of rip off the Secchi Disc?!

I realize RT'ing my own blog on x-mas day, which touches on issues around consumerism, is probably a faux pas, but...
What do long-held things teach us about depth?

A short Edge Effects meditation that grew out of having to let go of my old truck.

🛻 tnature.substack.com/p/edge-effec...
Edge Effects: After the Last Mile
A Meditation on Durability and Depth in a Disposable Age
tnature.substack.com

Reposted by Andrew L. Rypel

That's a wrap on 2025's #25DaysofFishmas - the 10th year of #Fishmas silliness! Thanks to everyone who has followed along as we explored some of the amazing fish that call the US home.

From Atlantic to Pacific, there's a lot worth protecting - wishing everyone peace and renewal of hope for 2026.
A home for contaminants research is here! Contaminants, Environment, and Society publishes insights that link science, community, and policy. Check out the scope and submit your research ▶️ https://ow.ly/czCj50Xuof8

#PollutionResearch #OpenForSubmissions #Microplastics

40 years ago, there would have likely been no birds here because there was no water flooded on these fields in the winter.

Farmers help conservation much more than people realize. AND...they often can and want to do more! #ThisIsTheWay 👏
A sky full of snow geese over California rice.

Proof that working lands and wildlife can thrive together.

That sucks! Literally...not figuratively :)

Reposted by Andrew L. Rypel

A sky full of snow geese over California rice.

Proof that working lands and wildlife can thrive together.

What do long-held things teach us about depth?

A short Edge Effects meditation that grew out of having to let go of my old truck.

🛻 tnature.substack.com/p/edge-effec...
Edge Effects: After the Last Mile
A Meditation on Durability and Depth in a Disposable Age
tnature.substack.com

Anytime! That sounds right up my alley!

Thanks for the retweet (errr re-post) Ben! Fan of your books...

Reposted by Andrew L. Rypel

“What were once bedrock aspects of daily life & spirituality increasingly appear as infrastructure, background scenery, or vague environmental concern. Our lived relationship w/ rivers has, in a quiet but profound way, been deleted.”

@andrewrypel.bsky.social

tnature.substack.com/p/no-one-tal...
No One Talks About Rivers Anymore
How modernity blinded our aquatic ancestry
tnature.substack.com

It looks like Carpenter is also rocking a sweet vest!

Dang. That vest is BOSS, Jim!