The Great Lakes, Plankton, and the Magic School Bus

This week, I wanted to highlight a TED Talk about the Great Lakes. I searched every possible combination of words I could think of for the Great Lakes on the TED website, but I kept getting zero results. Silly me, I chose my topic before I looked into what talks actually exist!

But then I started to wonder… what’s going on here? How is it possible that there isn’t a single TED Talk about the largest collection of fresh water in the world? Sure, there might be Great Lakes talks at regional TEDx events, but are there actually zero on the primary website?

In a way, this says a lot about peoples’ perception of the Great Lakes. TED Talks are usually focused on global crises, innovation, and curiosities. The fact that none exist about the Great Lakes is a sign that the lakes aren’t seen as a priority worth discussing right now, despite the many challenges they face today and rising concerns over water security.

Photo: Great Lakes in winter from NASA Visible Earth project, https://visibleearth.nasa.gov/.

Even though I couldn’t find a TED Talk on the Great Lakes, there are plenty about water scarcity and contamination. Rather than focus on the negatives, I chose a talk that highlights a cool way to improve the climate situation globally while supporting aquatic ecosystems as well.

Simone Bianco and Tom Zimmerman present the wonderful world of plankton, the “Elders” who have survived for millions of years on nothing but the power of the sun and CO₂!

Bianco and Zimmerman tap into a common strategy in conservation work: use a charismatic megafauna species to make people more sympathetic toward environmental issues. You’ve seen this before. Polar bears trapped on a small block of ice, dolphins playing together in the ocean, and pandas munching on bamboo are a few common examples.

Photo: another charismatic megafauna, the koala, and her joey at the San Diego Zoo, https://zoonooz.sandiegozoo.org/.

The problem is that plankton, the foundation of life in many ecosystems (including the Great Lakes!), aren’t exactly the most relatable or charming creatures out there. They aren’t fluffy or playful or cute. In fact, they don’t seem like they are much of anything at first glance.

Photo: plankton under a microscope, https://www.britannica.com/.

These two TED Talkers set out to change the way we view plankton.

In an amusing demonstration reminiscent of Fantastic Voyage, Innerspace, and Magic School Bus, Bianco and Zimmerman take you “scuba diving” with the plankton in a single drop of water. They present amazing facts about different types of plankton and explain their importance to other species, water quality, food production, the economy, and climate change. By providing a first-hand look into the life of plankton, the speakers hope that people will connect more with the little organisms and appreciate the ways they influence our lives.

Photo: screenshot of the TED Talk taken while Bianco and Zimmerman explore plankton, bit.ly/2RZKG6U.

Plankton have been a near-perfect indicator for water quality and invasive species trends in the Great Lakes.¹ They are an important enough part of the ecosystem that Great Lakes phytoplankton and zooplankton are both monitored by the EPA.^{2, 3} Bianco and Zimmerman are right: we need to be paying more attention to the smaller species in the water, even if they aren’t always as exciting as salmon or sturgeon. Great Lakes life would be impossible without them!

Bianco and Zimmerman are goofy and engaging presenters and their talk is worth a watch: bit.ly/2RZKG6U. It might just inspire you to take a closer look at the tiny creatures that make up our world!

Check out the Wisconsin Water Library’s resources on plankton here, and find some slightly more serious TED Talks on water here.

Resources I mentioned in this article:

¹ Reavie, Euan D., et al. “Phytoplankton Trends in the Great Lakes, 2001–2011.” Journal of Great Lakes Research, vol. 40, no. 3, 20 May 2014, pp. 618–639., doi:10.1016/j.jglr.2014.04.013.

² “Great Lakes Phytoplankton Monitoring.” EPA, Environmental Protection Agency, 14 Dec. 2017, www.epa.gov/great-lakes-monitoring/great-lakes-phytoplankton-monitoring.

³ “Great Lakes Zooplankton Monitoring.” EPA, Environmental Protection Agency, 4 Sept. 2018, www.epa.gov/great-lakes-monitoring/great-lakes-zooplankton-monitoring.

Welcome to the AquaLog reboot with Morgan! I’m a graduate student working toward my Masters in Library and Information Science, and I have an undergraduate degree in Hydrology and Geology. In other words, my role as a project assistant at the Wisconsin Water Library is right up my alley!

Photo: Morgan in Istanbul, Turkey, 2015.

I started working at the Water Library in August 2018 and will be here for about a year. Now that I’ve settle into my position a little more, AquaLog will become part of my weekly (or bi-weekly – we’ll see how motivated I am to write each week!) schedule here at the Water Library. If there are any topics you would like me to cover, please reach out at mcwitte@wisc.edu.

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Now on to this week’s topic!

In honor of Indigenous Peoples’ Day, I chose Native American connections with the Great Lakes area as my first AquaLog topic.

Photo: Portland Mercury Events, https://www.portlandmercury.com/events/19362162/indigenous-peoples-day-celebration.

When I started doing research for this post, I was overwhelmed with information! From historical documents and primary sources to art exhibits and cultural artifacts, the history between Indigenous populations and the Great Lakes is rich and diverse. I knew I couldn’t do all of that history justice in one blog post, and I’m no expert on the topic, so I decided to focus on three modern-day themes:

1. Acknowledgement of native contributions to Great Lakes states

During my search, a recent news article from the Great Lakes Echo stood out to me among the sea of information: “Rethinking, retelling Native American roles in Great Lakes history.” Historical markers throughout Michigan rarely recognize the contributions of Native Americans to the state and are often offensive and Eurocentric. Michigan is collaborating with native groups in the state to right these wrongs so that the state’s historical monuments reflect a realistic history. I’ll definitely be following this story to see how the process plays out!

2. A commission that makes a big impact on the Great Lakes

On a more regional scale, the Great Lakes Indian Fish and Wildlife Commission, or GLIFWC, also works to maintain rights for native peoples. Representing eleven Ojibwe tribes in Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Michigan, GLIFWC is an expert organization that protects hunting, fishing, and gathering treaty rights, provides legal analysis, and reinforces conservation and natural resource management practices. The commission makes an impact on Great Lakes research through monitoring projects, mercury contamination reporting, and environmental education. Basically, GLIFWC has so many amazing resources available that I can’t cover them all. Go check them out for yourself here!

3. How Indigenous knowledge can help us think about water crises

Written by Dr. Deborah McGregor, Traditional Knowledge: Considerations for Protecting Water in Ontario provides insight into First Nations perspective on water crises in Ontario, Canada. As an Anishinabe woman, McGregor presents “lessons and teachings from Elders, knowledge holders, practitioners, Anishinabe thinkers, scholars and others” in relation to water management. (1) McGregor’s article is engaging and informative, and she covers topics from Creation beliefs to political history to current activist movements in relation to water. Give her article a read for a First Nations scholar’s perspective, I promise it won’t disappoint!

Photo: Lake Ontario, 2006. Mother Earth Water Walk, an activist group mentioned in McGregor’s article. http://www.motherearthwaterwalk.com/.

If you’re interested in finding out about the history behind today’s current events and present-day organizations, the Wisconsin Historical Society and UW-Madison Libraries have great collections. Librarian tip: using Subjects to narrow your results will help you squeeze out the good information without needing to guess what words to use in your search!

Oh, and did I mention that the Wisconsin Water Library has a great selection of books on Indigenous literature and history, too? Head on over to the library website for curated reading lists on many topics, including Native Americans and Water!

Resources I mentioned in this article:

Evans, Maxwell. “Rethinking, Retelling Native American Roles in Great Lakes History.” Great Lakes Echo, 8 Apr. 2018, greatlakesecho.org/2018/04/13/rethinking-retelling-native-american-roles-in-great-lakes-history/.

Great Lakes Indian Fish and Wildlife Commission, www.glifwc.org/.

McGregor, D. (2012). Traditional Knowledge: Considerations for Protecting Water in Ontario. The International Indigenous Policy Journal, 3(3).