Travis Lecture Focuses on Onondaga Lake

03/15/2016

Dr. Neil Ringler will present an in-depth look at the renewal of Onondaga Lake at the SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry (ESF) March 30.

The Dale L. Travis Lecture Series presented by ESF will focus on "Renewal of a Jewel – Onondaga Lake: Effective Collaboration Among Students, Scientists, Agencies and Private Enterprise," at 7:30 p.m., March 30, in the Gateway Center on the ESF campus.

The event features the work of Ringler, a Distinguished Teaching Professor and vice provost for research at ESF.

Once considered among the nation's most severely damaged lakes, Onondaga Lake is on a remarkable path of recovery. Ringler will present highlights from 30 years of research on the lake and its habitats. Beginning with the closure of the local soda ash facility in 1986, Ringler and more than 30 of his graduate students (plus many undergrads) have researched aquatic life in Onondaga Lake. Their studies range from the return of aquatic plants to the colonization of zebra mussels, spawning success of sunfish, migration patterns of walleye and sturgeon, and population dynamics of largemouth and smallmouth bass.

Ringler will also discuss collaborations that have made such extensive work possible.

The event is sponsored by the Dale L. Travis Public Lecture Series at ESF. The series is made possible by the generous support of Dale L. Travis '59. Travis envisioned the lecture series as a way to inform the general public about the research projects being conducted by ESF faculty.