Environment
Sturgeon studies examine spawning, bring science to school
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By MATTHEW HALL
Capital News Service
LANSING — Researchers at Black Lake are studying threats to sturgeon and using their findings to teach biology to students from kindergarten through high school. Among the questions being examined at the 10,130-acre lake in Cheboygan and Presque Isle counties is why the prehistoric fish hasn’t reproduced in the wild as much as scientists would like. There are some working hypotheses, said Edward Baker, one of the lead investigators on the project. One is theory is that the habitat isn’t ideal for sturgeon. “The habitat has changed sufficiently from what it was before Europeans extensively settled the state that the larvae, once they hatch and start to grow, just aren’t surviving,” said Baker, the lake sturgeon coordinator at the Department of Natural Resources (DNR).