Freshwater+Biologist-+Jordan

=**Freshwater Biologist ﻿ ** = Also known as Lymnologist

What is It?
Freshwater biology is the study of the ecology and biology of freshwater bodies. These biologists study the effects of the environment on organisms living in lakes, streams, and rivers.

Education
A minimum of of a bachelor's or masters degree is required with a focus on aquatic systems, freshwater biology or a related field. For senior research positions, higher paid work, or to teach at a college level a PhD is required.

Salary
The average salary for freshwater biologist in the U.S. is $69,000 Average starting wage for Wisconsin freshwater biologists is $51,000 The salary all depends on where you work, who you work for, and what kind of education or experience you have.

Duties
A large part of being a freshwater biologist deals with the impact humans have on freshwater environments including plants and animals. This can be pollution, development, fishing, or other interactions that humans have with these sort of areas. Some other duties include: -Study a particular aquatic system and its environment -Study organisms reaction to change in the environment -Identify plants and animals found in inland waters and observe them over a period of time. -Study impact of humans in certain areas. -Test water quality and contamination levels. -Identify and deal with aquatic invasive species.

Tools of the Trade
Freshwater biologist use a wide variety of different tools in their everyday work. All of this equipment is usually provided by the employer, and often times biologist will have learned how to use them either in their education or in on the job training. The types of tools also depend on what sort of area you are working in. Obviously you would need different tools if you are just working on a small stream rather than if you are working on say the Great Lakes. Just a few examples of some of these tools are:

[[image:aquatic_biology.jpg width="153" height="180" align="left"]]
-boats -all terrain vehicles -sampling supplies -various test kits -cameras -depth meters -bottom dredge samplers

Job Availability
The number of people interested in pursuing this type of career has gone up recently. Even so, there doesn't seem to be a lack of job openings. Especially in this area there are a lot of freshwater areas that provide sufficient work for a number of people. This is also a very broad field and you can work for a wide range of companies both in the public and private sector. We are fortunate to be centered around the Great Lakes region and because of this there are many opportunities for work in this field.

Agencies/Companies


International Society of Limnology www.limnology.org/jobs

Wenck Associates Inc.

Water Environment Federation jobbank.wef.org/jobs

Resources
-http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-a-limnologist.htm -http://www.worky.com/workypedia/limnologist-required-abilities/15/261/5903 -http://www.bemidjistate.edu/academics/departments/biology/aquatic/