Fewer fish and more algae? Scientists seek to understand impacts of historic lack of Great Lakes ice

Michigan Tech University biologists have been observing a remote Lake Superior island's fragile wolf population every winter since 1958, but they had to cut this season's planned seven-week survey short after just two weeks. As climate change accelerates, scientists are scrambling to understand how iceless winters could affect the world's largest freshwater system. “This year really drives home the point that we need to collect more data,” said Trista Vick-Majors, an assistant biology professor who studies aquatic ecosystems at Michigan Tech.