El Lower
@helloellower.bsky.social
Invasion biologist, science communicator, forager, and general-purpose naturalist. (they/them) 🏳️🌈🍃✨
Our #GLANSIS program manager and I will be chairing Session 19 at IAGLR 2026, though ours is apparently one of SEVERAL invasive species-themed sessions — we’ve got strong overlap with sessions 18 and 52 proposed by our Canadian colleagues, so perhaps we can put our heads together and collaborate!
The #GLANSIS team will be chairing Session 19: Invasive Species Research and Communication! Submit your abstract soon and come join us in Winnipeg!
Don’t miss your chance to present! Call for Abstracts is now open, offering 70+ sessions to help you find the perfect fit for your oral or poster presentation. The 2026 hybrid conference will take place May 25–29 in Winnipeg. Submit by December 19: https://bit.ly/4nTTfxz
December 4, 2025 at 8:14 PM
Our #GLANSIS program manager and I will be chairing Session 19 at IAGLR 2026, though ours is apparently one of SEVERAL invasive species-themed sessions — we’ve got strong overlap with sessions 18 and 52 proposed by our Canadian colleagues, so perhaps we can put our heads together and collaborate!
Reposted by El Lower
Quagga mussels - the animal in my profile pic - have caused ecosystem shifts in 4/5 Laurentian Great Lakes
They're like kobolds - individually they are tiny and weak but are able to overwhelm the environment with their sheer numbers
They're like kobolds - individually they are tiny and weak but are able to overwhelm the environment with their sheer numbers
One of the most valued fish in the Great Lakes is in serious trouble, and the race is on to find a solution and save them.
youtu.be/xKGr5t1W85k
youtu.be/xKGr5t1W85k
Whitefish are disappearing. What can we do? | Great Lakes Now
YouTube video by Great Lakes Now
youtu.be
December 4, 2025 at 3:26 PM
Quagga mussels - the animal in my profile pic - have caused ecosystem shifts in 4/5 Laurentian Great Lakes
They're like kobolds - individually they are tiny and weak but are able to overwhelm the environment with their sheer numbers
They're like kobolds - individually they are tiny and weak but are able to overwhelm the environment with their sheer numbers
Reposted by El Lower
Don’t miss your chance to present! Call for Abstracts is now open, offering 70+ sessions to help you find the perfect fit for your oral or poster presentation. The 2026 hybrid conference will take place May 25–29 in Winnipeg. Submit by December 19: https://bit.ly/4nTTfxz
December 4, 2025 at 6:00 PM
Don’t miss your chance to present! Call for Abstracts is now open, offering 70+ sessions to help you find the perfect fit for your oral or poster presentation. The 2026 hybrid conference will take place May 25–29 in Winnipeg. Submit by December 19: https://bit.ly/4nTTfxz
Reposted by El Lower
Call for Abstracts is open! With 70+ sessions, there are plenty of opportunities to find the best fit for your oral or poster presentation. The conference will be held May 25–29, 2026, in Winnipeg, Manitoba, as a hybrid event. Call deadline, December 19: https://bit.ly/4nTTfxz
November 29, 2025 at 6:00 PM
Call for Abstracts is open! With 70+ sessions, there are plenty of opportunities to find the best fit for your oral or poster presentation. The conference will be held May 25–29, 2026, in Winnipeg, Manitoba, as a hybrid event. Call deadline, December 19: https://bit.ly/4nTTfxz
Reposted by El Lower
Today, as always, we're thankful for the Great Lakes and all the incredible people who care for them
November 27, 2025 at 3:04 PM
Today, as always, we're thankful for the Great Lakes and all the incredible people who care for them
Reposted by El Lower
Are you planning on attending the IAGLR & SCAS-SCSA 2026 Joint Conference in Winnipeg on May 25–29, 2026?
I will be co-chairing a session (assuming I can secure funding) on Priorities for DEIA in Aquatic Sciences. Please consider submitting an abstract to our session!
iaglr.org/iaglr-scas26...
I will be co-chairing a session (assuming I can secure funding) on Priorities for DEIA in Aquatic Sciences. Please consider submitting an abstract to our session!
iaglr.org/iaglr-scas26...
Abstracts - IAGLR-SCAS 2026
iaglr.org
November 21, 2025 at 2:40 PM
Are you planning on attending the IAGLR & SCAS-SCSA 2026 Joint Conference in Winnipeg on May 25–29, 2026?
I will be co-chairing a session (assuming I can secure funding) on Priorities for DEIA in Aquatic Sciences. Please consider submitting an abstract to our session!
iaglr.org/iaglr-scas26...
I will be co-chairing a session (assuming I can secure funding) on Priorities for DEIA in Aquatic Sciences. Please consider submitting an abstract to our session!
iaglr.org/iaglr-scas26...
Reposted by El Lower
Dear grad students,
Reminder: it’s also totally fine to ignore your [uncle] who thinks your research is a waste of time and resources. You don’t owe people an explanation! They don’t have to get it!
Or, as someone told me as a life-changing piece of advice: reasons are for reasonable people.
Reminder: it’s also totally fine to ignore your [uncle] who thinks your research is a waste of time and resources. You don’t owe people an explanation! They don’t have to get it!
Or, as someone told me as a life-changing piece of advice: reasons are for reasonable people.
Every year around Thanksgiving, I see tons of grad students post heartbreaking messages on social media about how their loved ones don’t understand or support their decision to study what seems like something pointless or silly.
Perhaps my American Scientist essay can help!
🧪🌎🦑 #SciComm
Perhaps my American Scientist essay can help!
🧪🌎🦑 #SciComm
“Why Are We Funding This?”
Long-standing myths about “silly science” have contributed to the reckless slashing of government-supported research.
www.americanscientist.org
November 25, 2025 at 7:01 PM
Dear grad students,
Reminder: it’s also totally fine to ignore your [uncle] who thinks your research is a waste of time and resources. You don’t owe people an explanation! They don’t have to get it!
Or, as someone told me as a life-changing piece of advice: reasons are for reasonable people.
Reminder: it’s also totally fine to ignore your [uncle] who thinks your research is a waste of time and resources. You don’t owe people an explanation! They don’t have to get it!
Or, as someone told me as a life-changing piece of advice: reasons are for reasonable people.
Reposted by El Lower
Oil-detecting dogs and battery-powered ships: dive into HazMaTON’s webinar collection for excellent presentations about hazardous material transport, oil spill clean-up, mapping projects, and more: buff.ly/5Awf7x6
@mnseagrant.bsky.social
@mnseagrant.bsky.social
November 25, 2025 at 1:30 PM
Oil-detecting dogs and battery-powered ships: dive into HazMaTON’s webinar collection for excellent presentations about hazardous material transport, oil spill clean-up, mapping projects, and more: buff.ly/5Awf7x6
@mnseagrant.bsky.social
@mnseagrant.bsky.social
Reposted by El Lower
The U.S. EPA and Army Corps of Engineers has proposed a set of new rules that would leave millions of acres of wetlands, small waterbodies, and ephemeral streams across the country unprotected — threatening the drinking water of millions of Americans. #GreatLakes #CleanWater
buff.ly/8mEJpMf
buff.ly/8mEJpMf
Three Great Lakes States at Greatest Risk as EPA Rolls Back Wetland Protections
The wetlands protection rollback threatens millions of acres, impacting drinking water and essential wildlife habitats across America.
www.circleofblue.org
November 24, 2025 at 6:21 PM
The U.S. EPA and Army Corps of Engineers has proposed a set of new rules that would leave millions of acres of wetlands, small waterbodies, and ephemeral streams across the country unprotected — threatening the drinking water of millions of Americans. #GreatLakes #CleanWater
buff.ly/8mEJpMf
buff.ly/8mEJpMf
I’m following Les Mis Letters (reading a chapter a day of the unabridged Les Miserables for a full year) and we have now reached the infamous sewer digression. Victor Hugo is second only to @neorsd.org in their respective passions for wastewater management….
November 19, 2025 at 10:05 PM
I’m following Les Mis Letters (reading a chapter a day of the unabridged Les Miserables for a full year) and we have now reached the infamous sewer digression. Victor Hugo is second only to @neorsd.org in their respective passions for wastewater management….
Reposted by El Lower
Beyond Chicago's charismatic exotic animals (shout-out to Chance the Snapper), the city's waterways have also become home to less conspicuous - but environmentally harmful - exotic species like weatherfish, goldfish, and red swamp crayfish.
A good reminder to never release pets to the wild!
A good reminder to never release pets to the wild!
The city has seen its share of exotic animals, crawling, slithering and swinging, unattended in Chicago streets and waterways. But what happens when there’s a peacock strutting down the alley?
A monkey on the loose: Odd animal sightings in Chicago
www.wbez.org
November 19, 2025 at 3:48 PM
Beyond Chicago's charismatic exotic animals (shout-out to Chance the Snapper), the city's waterways have also become home to less conspicuous - but environmentally harmful - exotic species like weatherfish, goldfish, and red swamp crayfish.
A good reminder to never release pets to the wild!
A good reminder to never release pets to the wild!
Reposted by El Lower
In our #PictureOfTheWeek, invasive carp exposed to an electric shock leap out of the Illinois River. Now, a new and contentious plan aims to keep the fish out of the Great Lakes: buff.ly/avmUipw
November 19, 2025 at 12:43 PM
In our #PictureOfTheWeek, invasive carp exposed to an electric shock leap out of the Illinois River. Now, a new and contentious plan aims to keep the fish out of the Great Lakes: buff.ly/avmUipw
I’ll be presenting virtually this time around and am looking forward to our session tomorrow!
I am currently near water that is part of the Great Lakes system. Things are a little more right with the world for the next two days.
In Detroit for Great Lakes ANS Panel meeting. Facilitating a session on AIS comms w/ @helloellower.bsky.social. Learning more about the impacts of our comms!
In Detroit for Great Lakes ANS Panel meeting. Facilitating a session on AIS comms w/ @helloellower.bsky.social. Learning more about the impacts of our comms!
November 18, 2025 at 10:51 PM
I’ll be presenting virtually this time around and am looking forward to our session tomorrow!
Reposted by El Lower
NOAA saves lives.
We need to save NOAA.
We need to save NOAA.
November 11, 2025 at 2:53 AM
NOAA saves lives.
We need to save NOAA.
We need to save NOAA.
Reposted by El Lower
Michigan lawmakers want to greatly increase funding for invasive mussel control research in the #GreatLakes to $500 million over the next 10 years - as Great Lakes Fishery Commission's Greg McClinchey says in this article: "Mussels are this generation’s sea lamprey" bridgemi.com/michigan-env...
Michigan lawmakers seek $500M to stop mussels, save Great Lakes whitefish - Bridge Michigan
US Reps. Debbie Dingell and Tim Walberg are planning legislation to boost research to control invasive mussels, following Bridge Michigan reporting about the impending collapse of whitefish.
bridgemi.com
November 11, 2025 at 4:49 PM
Michigan lawmakers want to greatly increase funding for invasive mussel control research in the #GreatLakes to $500 million over the next 10 years - as Great Lakes Fishery Commission's Greg McClinchey says in this article: "Mussels are this generation’s sea lamprey" bridgemi.com/michigan-env...
Reposted by El Lower
I think I'm pivoting from "everyone call your Senators to stop this" and am going to swing into "everyone call your Senators to tell them you're still pissed and you're coming for them in a primary season and we're not going to forget"
November 10, 2025 at 12:18 AM
I think I'm pivoting from "everyone call your Senators to stop this" and am going to swing into "everyone call your Senators to tell them you're still pissed and you're coming for them in a primary season and we're not going to forget"
Reposted by El Lower
The legend lives on from the Chippewa on down
Of the big lake they called 'gitche gumee'
The lake, it is said, never gives up her dead
When the skies of November turn gloomy
🧵
Of the big lake they called 'gitche gumee'
The lake, it is said, never gives up her dead
When the skies of November turn gloomy
🧵
November 10, 2024 at 2:36 PM
The legend lives on from the Chippewa on down
Of the big lake they called 'gitche gumee'
The lake, it is said, never gives up her dead
When the skies of November turn gloomy
🧵
Of the big lake they called 'gitche gumee'
The lake, it is said, never gives up her dead
When the skies of November turn gloomy
🧵
Reposted by El Lower
While the Edmund Fitzgerald is the most famous, the #GreatLakes are home to an estimated 6000 - 10,000 shipwrecks. Many wrecks occur in fall due to the "November Witch" winds caused by a clash of cold Canadian air from the north + warm Gulf air from the south www.discovermagazine.com/as-an-underw...
As an Underwater Graveyard, the Great Lakes Have Claimed Close to 10,000 Ships
Though called the Great Lakes, these massive bodies of water are actually inland seas, and can be just as unpredictable as the ocean.
www.discovermagazine.com
November 10, 2025 at 1:46 PM
While the Edmund Fitzgerald is the most famous, the #GreatLakes are home to an estimated 6000 - 10,000 shipwrecks. Many wrecks occur in fall due to the "November Witch" winds caused by a clash of cold Canadian air from the north + warm Gulf air from the south www.discovermagazine.com/as-an-underw...
Reposted by El Lower
Gordon Lightfoot's iconic song tells the story of the Edmund Fitzgerald, lost 50 years ago this month. As we sing along, take a moment to connect with some of the other stories that unite us around a shared Great Lakes heritage: buff.ly/5YqgUrb
November 10, 2025 at 3:31 PM
Gordon Lightfoot's iconic song tells the story of the Edmund Fitzgerald, lost 50 years ago this month. As we sing along, take a moment to connect with some of the other stories that unite us around a shared Great Lakes heritage: buff.ly/5YqgUrb
Reposted by El Lower
The shutdown has left NOAA's network of cooperative research institutes locked out of federal labs and cut off from federal collaborators. In some cases, it's affecting research aimed at public safety—like toxic algae monitoring in the Great Lakes. My story 🔏 & quick 🧵 www.eenews.net/articles/shu...
Shutdown disrupts research into Great Lakes’ toxic algae
At risk is the ability for researchers to forecast dangerous blooms weeks in advance.
www.eenews.net
November 4, 2025 at 4:40 PM
The shutdown has left NOAA's network of cooperative research institutes locked out of federal labs and cut off from federal collaborators. In some cases, it's affecting research aimed at public safety—like toxic algae monitoring in the Great Lakes. My story 🔏 & quick 🧵 www.eenews.net/articles/shu...
Reposted by El Lower
Not much is scarier for a #GreatLakes fish than the invasive sea lamprey, sometimes called vampire fish 🧛
But while they're more trick than treat in their introduced range, they're actually threatened in parts of their native range of the Atlantic coasts of Europe + North America - that's scary!
But while they're more trick than treat in their introduced range, they're actually threatened in parts of their native range of the Atlantic coasts of Europe + North America - that's scary!
October 31, 2025 at 5:12 PM
Not much is scarier for a #GreatLakes fish than the invasive sea lamprey, sometimes called vampire fish 🧛
But while they're more trick than treat in their introduced range, they're actually threatened in parts of their native range of the Atlantic coasts of Europe + North America - that's scary!
But while they're more trick than treat in their introduced range, they're actually threatened in parts of their native range of the Atlantic coasts of Europe + North America - that's scary!
Reposted by El Lower
#FoodieFriday This colorful fish dish with rice noodles and herbs is sure to brighten up any dreary day. It's a riff on cha ca, a grilled Vietnamese dish famous in the city of Hanoi, but El Lower has tweaked the classic to feature any lean, mild local fish cooked up in a pan.
Vietnamese turmeric fish with dill
Turmeric adds a pop of color and flavor to this bright, refreshing fish dish.
buff.ly
October 31, 2025 at 12:45 PM
#FoodieFriday This colorful fish dish with rice noodles and herbs is sure to brighten up any dreary day. It's a riff on cha ca, a grilled Vietnamese dish famous in the city of Hanoi, but El Lower has tweaked the classic to feature any lean, mild local fish cooked up in a pan.
Reposted by El Lower
Long after the Halloween season has ended, some Great Lakes’ invasive species remain a scary sight: blood-sucking parasites with suction-cup mouths, thousands of rotting fish carcasses washed ashore and sharp mussel shells that puncture the feet of beachgoers ☠️
www.greatlakesnow.org/2024/10/grea...
www.greatlakesnow.org/2024/10/grea...
Great Lakes most unwanted: Top 10 invasive species | Great Lakes Now
Researchers make sense of the extensive variety and effects of invasive species.
www.greatlakesnow.org
October 30, 2025 at 6:26 PM
Long after the Halloween season has ended, some Great Lakes’ invasive species remain a scary sight: blood-sucking parasites with suction-cup mouths, thousands of rotting fish carcasses washed ashore and sharp mussel shells that puncture the feet of beachgoers ☠️
www.greatlakesnow.org/2024/10/grea...
www.greatlakesnow.org/2024/10/grea...
Reposted by El Lower
You have until Sunday SUNDAY Sunday to order a Biology is Bigger than Binaries shirt. I don't have room in my house for piles of shirts so our shirts are always time-limited.
Designed by @franzanth.bsky.social, supports @skypeascientist.bsky.social, looks cool as hell.
Get one: SquidFacts.net
Designed by @franzanth.bsky.social, supports @skypeascientist.bsky.social, looks cool as hell.
Get one: SquidFacts.net
I'm doing another print run of these "Biology is Bigger than Binaries" shirts!
Back, quite literally, by popular demand. Bullying works, sure, but so does a bunch of nice cutie patooties politely asking!
Order 'em now, I'll mail 'em in early November.
SquidFacts.net
Back, quite literally, by popular demand. Bullying works, sure, but so does a bunch of nice cutie patooties politely asking!
Order 'em now, I'll mail 'em in early November.
SquidFacts.net
October 30, 2025 at 12:59 AM
You have until Sunday SUNDAY Sunday to order a Biology is Bigger than Binaries shirt. I don't have room in my house for piles of shirts so our shirts are always time-limited.
Designed by @franzanth.bsky.social, supports @skypeascientist.bsky.social, looks cool as hell.
Get one: SquidFacts.net
Designed by @franzanth.bsky.social, supports @skypeascientist.bsky.social, looks cool as hell.
Get one: SquidFacts.net
Reposted by El Lower
125 years after the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal was built to reverse the flow of the Chicago River and connect the river to the Mississippi, there is a push to rename the waterbody. Public voting on the new name is open until November 7. news.wttw.com/2025/10/24/1...
The 125-Year-Old Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal Reversed the Chicago River, Now It Needs to Shed That Image
It's been 125 years since the Chicago River was famously reversed by creating the 28-mile Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal. Voting is open to give the canal a new, less sewage-adjacent name.
news.wttw.com
October 27, 2025 at 3:23 PM
125 years after the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal was built to reverse the flow of the Chicago River and connect the river to the Mississippi, there is a push to rename the waterbody. Public voting on the new name is open until November 7. news.wttw.com/2025/10/24/1...