Mercer students work in loon and lake study

MERCER, Wis. - Students of the Mercer School District are getting a first-hand experience with wildlife field research through a county program.

Mercer School eighth- and ninth-graders are continuing the annual participation in the Iron County Loon and Lake Study, in support of the Iron County Land and Water Conservation Department, according to Sarah Engler, the middle and high school science teacher at Mercer School. The project involves three field trips to the nearby Fox Lake and Deer Lake.

"The first trip is focused on placing nesting platforms and collecting water quality data," Engler said.

The students took samples of water chemistry (pH levels), water temperature, dissolved oxygen, Secchi disk (water clarity), and macroinvertebrate sampling, she said. Studying the water quality will help students better understand how water quality connects to the health of a lake and in turn the ecosystem of the area.

"The next two trips will focus on checking platforms for eggs or chicks, collecting more water quality data, and then checking for chick survival and removal of platforms for winter," she said.

This is the 21st year of the study of the common loon or Gavia immer, Engler said. The long-term study has produced a vast amount of information about loons and our lakes.

The study has helped researchers learn more about the potential impacts of mercury on loon populations in northern Wisconsin, she said. The data has also been used to examine causes of loon productivity decline in Iron, Vilas, Oneida and Forest counties.

The study started with a request from the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources in 1999, Engler said. The Iron County Land and Water Conservation Department started the citizen-monitoring program for the placement of artificial loon nesting platforms.

The Hurley and Mercer public school districts became involved in 2000, she said. Students became involved in loon and lake ecology from constructing nesting platforms, and selecting lakes to study based on water quality and habitat features.

The student efforts have helped to hatch more than 75 loon chicks with the platforms they built and placed, she said. These hands-on efforts have helped to train a generation of informed citizens regarding the goals of forestry and land and water conservation.

"The loon project students of both Hurley and Mercer have been positively contributing to the lakes in their back yard while learning and having fun," Engler said. "The loon project aims at helping Iron County Loon residents as well as educating the public on the importance of healthy lakes and ecosystems."