Category: Introduced

Episode 18: This week, we dive deep into two news stories that flew under the public’s radar. In the summer of 2020, individuals all over the country started receiving random packages of unsolicited and unidentified seeds. In the spring of 2021, pet stores around the country found that the moss balls on their shelves carried a notorious aquatic hitchhiker. On this episode, we talk to some of the people who devoted months of their lives to dealing with these first-of-their-kind international crises.

Episode 17: On August 27, 2009, the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources gets a call about small lobsters crawling around a neighborhood pond in Germantown. The extent of the problem is more than anyone bargained for.

Episode 16: The miniscule Spiny waterflea was introduced into Madison’s Lake Mendota and lurked undetected for years. This hour, Bonnie and Sydney take a new look at a well-studied lake and try to figure out how an introduced species can float below science’s radar for so long.

Episode 15: Wild rice faces challenges like introduced species, pollution, habitat destruction and climate change. We learn how the Sokaogon Chippewa Community cares for this wonderfully resilient being. Opinions of our guests do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the Sokaogon Chippewa Community Mole Lake Band of Lake Superior Chippewa.

Episode 14: Sydney debriefs Bonnie on what it was like to filet her very first fish, which happened to be a silver carp.

Episode 13: Canines Betty White and Ernie are training to detect the scent of New Zealand Mudsnail, and Sydney goes bow hunting for flying carp. Also, we talk to a group that is trying to make carp burgers the next popular tailgating food.

Episode 12: Pacific salmon were introduced into the Great Lakes to control nuisance alewives. Now, alewives and salmon are both being challenged by a new wave of introduced species.

Episode 11: Even the smallest snails can mean big changes for the region’s lakes and streams. We visit the Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa, where mystery snails encroach on wild rice, and track the spread of New Zealand mudsnail across Wisconsin trout streams.