University of Wisconsin–Madison

Using Sound to Connect People to Green Bay

Transcript

On a sunny morning in mid-June 2024, the Phoenix, University of Wisconsin-Green Bay’s research vessel, headed out onto the bay. Aboard were Sea Grant researchers Emily Tyner and Bill Sallak and a small mound of recording equipment. It was piloted by Chris Houghton, assistant professor and fish ecologist, who was assisted by first mate, undergraduate student Jacob Hoffman.

The bay tour was only supposed to last for three hours but like in the theme song for the “Gilligan’s Island” television show, a mishap was involved.

Tyner and Sallak’s project is associated with the development of a national estuarine research reserve on the bay. It will be the third reserve on the Great Lakes after Old Woman Creek in Ohio on Lake Erie and the Lake Superior Reserve in Superior, Wisconsin.

They planned to record natural noises from the bay, particularly bird sounds. Their target: the Cat Island Chain, restored barrier islands in the bay that have created new habitat for migrating and nesting shorebirds.

Tyner and Sallak plan to make the sounds of the bay available in a presentation and online. They hope it will connect the community to the bay, which has been shunned in the past due to environmental issues.

Emily Tyner
Emily Tyner. Image credit: Marie Zhukov, Wisconsin Sea Grant
Bill Sallak.
Bill Sallak. Image credit: Marie Zhukov, Wisconsin Sea Grant
Chris Houghton
Chris Houghton. Image credit: Marie Zhukov, Wisconsin Sea Grant
Pelicans sitting on rocks.
The pelican colony on Cat Island. Image credit: Marie Zhukov, Wisconsin Sea Grant
Pelicans flying in the sky
Pelicans wheel in the sky over Cat Island. Image credit: Marie Zhukov, Wisconsin Sea Grant
Trees and a large brick structure.
Houghton and Hoffman push the boat to free it from the sandy bottom of Green Bay. Image credit: Marie Zhukov, Wisconsin Sea Grant
A man pushing a boat.
Houghton and Hoffman push the boat to free it from the sandy bottom of Green Bay. Image credit: Marie Zhukov, Wisconsin Sea Grant
The harmful algal blooms monitoring buoy near Bay Beach Amusement Park. Image credit: Marie Zhukov, Wisconsin Sea Grant
The harmful algal blooms monitoring buoy near Bay Beach Amusement Park. Image credit: Marie Zhukov, Wisconsin Sea Grant
A rollercoaster on the beach.
The Zippin Pippin rollercoaster, Bay Beach Amusement Park. Image credit: Marie Zhukov, Wisconsin Sea Grant

Thanks to our guests

Emily Tyner, University of Wisconsin-Green Bay
Bill Sallak, University of Wisconsin-Green Bay
Chris Houghton, University of Wisconsin-Green Bay