Given a grant in 2005, the department was allowed to collect data from 25,000 lakes across New Hampshire, Iowa, Maine, Ohio, Wisconsin and Michigan. Throughout the five years after the project began, the researchers have made drastic advancements, said Mary Bremigan an associate professor in the Department of Fisheries and Wildlife.

“We are working to develop better monitoring techniques for all lakes,” Bremigan said. “We’re setting reasonable goals and standards for freshwater bodies.”

Landscape limnology studies fresh water by not only examining the water but also its surroundings. Considering all aspects of how freshwater systems work together, the study explores the links between lakes, rivers, streams, wetlands and the interactions between natural and human landscapes.

The goal of the project is to improve the broad understanding of the diversity of freshwater resources, and to give freshwater managers science-based tools to manage and protect bodies of water, Bremigan said.

By mastering the use of new technologies, such as geographical information systems, or GIS, aerial photos, data from satellites and information concerning the effects of land usage, researchers blend the information with data collected from the water systems.

By examining the surroundings of the bodies of water, more accurate data can be reached as to exactly how the water systems can be managed, said Patricia Soranno, an associate professor in the Department of Fisheries and Wildlife.

“If a lake in Michigan and Wisconsin were both exposed to 200 pounds of phosphorus, would both lakes experience a similar reaction?” Soranno said. “Now we know that they might react differently. Location matters. We know that water systems should be managed by regions.”

Combining the efforts of the Michigan Department of Natural Resources and Environment, the Michigan Department of Environmental Equality and the Michigan Water Resources Conservation Advisory Council, the project was a collaboration between state agencies and the university.

“This is one of the few effective collaborative research projects going on,” said Kendra Spence Cheruvelil, Department of Fisheries and Wildlife assistant professor. “There are social scientists and other co-authors involved, we recognized everyone and we work well together.”

Managed under one form of regulations, lake managers provide the same procedures to all lakes, although the research shows that freshwater bodies should be controlled under a more specialized method.

“It’s more complicated than looking at a shoreline,” Soranna said. “We want to look at the land around the region, it’s a far-scale aspect.”