iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

El Lower @helloellower.bsky.social · 29/05/2026

The Narcisse Snake Dens were a real highlight of this trip!

Masses of red-sided garter snakes form a mating ball.

The Narcisse Snake Dens sign from the bus window.

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El Lower @helloellower.bsky.social · 27/05/2026

Thanks to everyone who came by to chat about the #GLANSIS Social Science Data Hub at tonight’s poster session! I’ll be co-chairing tomorrow morning’s session on #InvasiveSpecies research and communication (and yes, the lamprey will be there too.) #IAGLR26

El stands in front of their conference poster holding their plush lamprey.

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El Lower @helloellower.bsky.social · 20/05/2026

A friend got me this plush sea lamprey “for emotional support” and you better believe this guy will be coming with me to Winnipeg next week for #IAGLR26!

El holds a large sea lamprey plushie longer than their own forearm. Its felt and fabric mouth is alarmingly detailed with many teeth.

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El Lower @helloellower.bsky.social · 11/04/2026

It’s been a hell of a week. Highly recommend staring into your local vernal pool for a while to regain some perspective (and look for fairy shrimp!)

A fairy shrimp (tiny translucent creature with two googly eyes, many swimmerets, and a forked tail) floats above maple and oak leaves in a vernal pool.

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El Lower @helloellower.bsky.social · 08/12/2025

Are you a #GreatLakes #InvasiveSpecies researcher or communicator planning to attend #IAGLR26 in Winnipeg? Submit an abstract to our Session 19 by December 19! bit.ly/4nTTfxz @iaglr.bsky.social #AIS

19. Invasive Species Research and Communication

Invasive species are a leading threat to native species and biodiversity, are an important driver of global ecological and evolutionary change, restructure food webs, and have caused significant economic damage to aquatic ecosystems. This session welcomes presentations reflecting a broad array of aquatic invasive species research in aquatic ecosystems, including ecological, economic, social science, communications, education, and evaluation research. Presentations about efforts to connect invasive species research to lay audiences (community science, education, etc.) are also welcome.

Chaired by: Rochelle Sturtevant, El Lower

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El Lower @helloellower.bsky.social · 04/12/2025

June takes her Bathroom Monitor duties very seriously and if you close the door on her she will wail piteously about you being in there unsupervised. It’s soooooo hard to be a dog…

Junie the dog, a small and pointy-snouted sighthound mix, snoozes on the sofa.

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El Lower @helloellower.bsky.social · 07/10/2025

✨New publication alert✨: “Recommendations from the Sea Grant-Led Invasive Species Language Workshop” — a report on the workshop I organized in DC last year! #BiologicalInvasions #InvasiveSpecies 🧪 www.reabic.net/journals/mbi...

Message frames and metaphors are commonly used within science communication to discuss complex topics, including invasive species. While these communication tools are undoubtedly helpful, the ecological process of invasion juxtaposed with the use of militaristic and nativist language can have unintended consequences that are counterproductive to management efforts. Species naming conventions are likewise complex, with some species bearing names that may reinforce xenophobic concepts or contain racial slurs. Despite the known need, there have been limited national efforts to develop better and more inclusive guidelines for invasive species communication...

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El Lower @helloellower.bsky.social · 07/10/2025

Timeline cleanse: everyone look at my beautiful little doggie while I figure out how to do effective message framing for my latest first-author publication that won’t make the the regime crawl down my throat.

Junie the dog, a small Italian Greyhound/sheltie mix, basks in a sunbeam in her cozy bed.

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El Lower @helloellower.bsky.social · 13/09/2025

It’s been a disturbing week to be online in any capacity, so have a timeline cleanse: this is our new dog Junie, a sheltie-Italian greyhound mix and champion snuggler and is helping me and my wife stay grounded in these deeply bizarre times.

Junie, a sable-and-white long-shouted little dog, snoozes on Bluesky user El’s chest.

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El Lower @helloellower.bsky.social · 05/06/2025

Paddled through my grad school research site, the Milwaukee River Area Of Concern, today. Got emotional about all the work that’s gone into remediating this incredible waterbody in the 8 years since I was last here. The river and I are both much happier and healthier since the last time we met!

The prow of a kayak jutting into the Milwaukee River, with another boat + an old bridge + apartments in the background.

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El Lower @helloellower.bsky.social · 04/06/2025

I definitely think more hotels should have dogs as part of guest services. These sweet girls are Millie and Sadie the canine concierges, and they sure made my day! #IAGLR25

El pets a pair of mini goldendoodles in a hotel lobby.

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El Lower @helloellower.bsky.social · 05/05/2025

It’s #GreatLakesAwarenessDay, and as a #GreatLakes researcher I’m doing my part to make you all more aware of these incredible freshwater ecosystems. Follow my friends and colleagues at @miseagrant.bsky.social and other #SeaGrant programs across the basin to learn how to protect the lakes we love!

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El Lower @helloellower.bsky.social · 03/04/2025

A bright spot in this bizarre week: the bloodroot is up in my front yard!

Three newly-opened bloodroot flowers emerge from the undergrowth.

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El Lower @helloellower.bsky.social · 01/04/2025

Happy Trans Day of Visibility from your local gay transgender scientist. Things are scary for so many of us right now, y’all, but we’re trying to make a life just the same as any other living creature on this good earth.

An illustration of a chickadee, with the text “trans people are your family and neighbors.” Image by @coyotesnout.

Text: gender non-conforming people will continue to participate in public life to the fullest extent. We will be everywhere the sun touches — there is no other option.

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El Lower @helloellower.bsky.social · 26/02/2025

Folks on another site chiming in with some beautiful commentary on the situation. Whatever gets you to NOT release your aquarium pets!!!! #NISAW #InvasiveSpecies

Tumblr tag comment from user aquilathefighter: “this pic looks like he’s about to drop the hardest goldfish diss track of all time”

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El Lower @helloellower.bsky.social · 26/02/2025

Our friends and colleagues at @USFWS are once again serving as national leaders in nominative determinism. Also, happy #NISAW!

Photo of Corey Ketchum/USFWS holding a goldfish found during an electrofishing survey in Presque Isle, PA.

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El Lower @helloellower.bsky.social · 10/02/2025

…I keep meaning to post an introduction to the work my team and I do with #GLANSIS, the Great Lakes Aquatic Nonindigenous Species Information System, but current events have derailed me a bit from work-based social media of late. #InvasiveSpeciesAwarenessWeek approaches, though, so stay tuned!

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El Lower @helloellower.bsky.social · 04/12/2024

Came across this archival flyer from the US Bureau of Fisheries from 1911 and had to share it here, as someone who cooks with #InvasiveSpecies on a regular basis. (Not sure I can recommend carp jelly, though…)

Please Post Conspicuously
Department of Commerce
U.S. Bureau of Fisheries
Washington
EAT THE CARP!
The carp discovered America in 1877.
He found the land to his liking. He multiplied and filled the waters with his kind.
He is now big, abundant, useful. He converts useless vegetation and small animals into meat.
It is easily digestible.
It can be cooked in such a way to remove the muddy taste. It can be boiled, baked, made into
croquettes, or fish loaf. Carp jelly, an ancient Swedish dish, is delicious.
There are millions of carp in the United States, The last census shows that 43,000,000 pounds
were marketed in one year. Nearly all this came from a few states in the Middle West.
Somebody ate those 43,000,000 pounds of carp.
Therefore the carp must be good to eat.
The carp is good to eat. Carp has not only been eaten, but has been cultivated in Europe for
centuries. Europeans know how to cook it.
Catch the carp; buy the carp; cook the carp properly and eat it. Eat the roe; can the roe.

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El Lower @helloellower.bsky.social · 26/11/2024

Just learned about #PlantsGiving — what a delightful idea! This growing season was my second year of raised garden beds, and here’s the harvest from my soup plot — Hamburg root parsley, carrots, leeks, beets, and turnips. Not bad for my first time growing ‘em, and they’ll be used for Thanksgiving!

A pile of freshly-harvested root vegetables still covered in dirt.

The same root vegetables, cleaned and trimmed, in a metal bowl for soup prep.

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El Lower @helloellower.bsky.social · 12/11/2024

Giving a virtual talk on The Invasive Species Language Workshop I led in Washington DC this past February at #UMISC 2024 today. The full workshop report is available here: www.michiganseagrant.org/wp-content/u...

Fourteen participants in the in-person part of the Invasive Species Language Workshop pose together for a photo in Washington DC.

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El Lower @helloellower.bsky.social · 11/11/2024

Hi, new Bluesky folks! I’m El (they/them), a science communicator and invasion biologist with Michigan Sea Grant. My work focuses on #AquaticInvasiveSpecies in the #GreatLakes, as well as on the rhetoric of invasion biology and inclusive #SciComm! I’m also a forager and wild foods cook! 🧪

El, a short-haired butch with glasses and a colorful printed shirt, stands in front of Lake Michigan in Chicago.

El, wearing a KF-94 mask, holds a preserved lamprey in a jar at a science museum in Vancouver.

El, wearing a delighted expression and a shirt printed with mushrooms and leaves, poses with two carp-shaped balloons at the Pleasant Peninsula art and activism festival in Grand Rapids MI.

El proudly hoists a bag containing about 15 pounds of hen of the woods mushrooms (Grifola frondosa) foraged on a hike with their wife.

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El Lower @helloellower.bsky.social · 26/09/2024

Interested in #GreatLakes #ParticipatoryScience? Join the NOAA #GLANSIS team and researchers at George Mason and collect invasive #MysterySnails! 🐌Scientists need your help collecting them to research their genetics + parasites. Learn more here: glerl.noaa.gov/glansis/contributeSnails.html 🧪

Participatory Science: Be a Mystery Snail Detective!

Getting involved is easy and rewarding:

Visit the Website: Navigate to our Contribute Mystery Snails landing page.
Learn and Equip: Familiarize yourself with the characteristics of mystery snails through our species profiles. Gather necessary equipment and safety gear.
Go Exploring: Head to your local lake or stream and start hunting for mystery snails. Check out our location map to see where populations have been documented and where samples are needed.
Collect and Document: Carefully collect the snails, take photos, and note down important details such as location, date, and environmental conditions. Aim to collect a minimum of 30 adult snails from each independent water body.
Submit Your Specimens: Ship your snails following the instructions listed in the ‘Shipping’ section of our webpage. Each submission brings us closer to unraveling the mystery of these invasive snails.

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El Lower @helloellower.bsky.social · 26/08/2024

Had an absolutely delightful time at the Pleasant Peninsula festival in Grand Rapids this weekend talking about #foraging for #invasivespecies and meeting other #scicomm folks!

El holds two carp balloons up to their face as if being smooched by fish.

Fish project: 50 native species, 50 artists, one Grand River.

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El Lower @helloellower.bsky.social · 15/08/2024

I’m giving a #foraging talk highlighting #invasivespecies and Michigan Sea Grant’s Freshwater Feasts recipe blog at the Pleasant Peninsula: Art & Activism Fair 2024! Come see me on August 24 at 5 pm at the Sixth Street Bridge in Grand Rapids to learn about wild recipes, foraging ethics, and more!

Pleasant Peninsula festival banner header.

5 pm: Freshwater Feast — Foraging In the Great Lakes. Get cooking with El Lower from Michigan Sea Grant and discover tasty recipes using ingredients you can forage right here in Michigan.

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