09Oct 2023 by Jenna Mertz

“Skill, tenacity, humility and compassion”: Jim Hurley, director of the Aquatic Sciences Center, to retire

Archive, Release
After 11 years as the director of the University of Wisconsin–Madison Aquatic Sciences Center, Jim Hurley will retire on Oct. 13. [caption id="attachment_3855" align="alignright" width="332"] Jim Hurley, director of the Aquatic Sciences Center. Photo credit: Wisconsin Sea Grant[/caption] Hurley oversees both the Water Resources Institute and Wisconsin Sea Grant, two federal-state partnership programs that support research, education and outreach for the protection and sustainable use of Wisconsin’s water resources. Under his leadership, both programs have addressed some of Wisconsin’s most pressing water issues—PFAS in drinking water, rising levels of radium in groundwater, coastal erosion, flooding and so much more—and provided research opportunities for the next generation of water professionals. Jon Pennock, director of the National Sea Grant College Program, said Hurley’s leadership is one reason why Wisconsin Sea Grant is…
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04Nov 2019 by Moira Harrington

Aquatic invasive species are short-circuiting benefits from mercury reduction in the Great Lakes

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Nov. 4, 2019 by Moira Harrington According to a new study published today in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 40 years of reduced mercury use, emissions, and loading in the Great Lakes region have largely not produced equivalent declines in the amount of mercury accumulating in large game fish. Researchers, including those from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, say it’s this is due to aquatic invasive species in Lake Michigan — quagga and zebra mussels — that have upended the food web and forced fish to seek atypical food sources enriched in mercury. Mercury, or methylmercury as it exists in fish, is a neurotoxin that can cause damage to the nervous system if consumed by people or animals. The study has consequences for health officials and natural resource…
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