How do aquatic plants regulate ecological balance within lakes?

Good to hear from Ambroise Baker about his current research project, which involves two weeks of field work in Northern Ireland surveying aquatic plants. 

Ambroise botanising in the New Forest
Image: G. Southon

He told me "We are going to report interesting ecological and floristic findings from our field campaign respectively on our project website/blog and on my botany blog. 

"We are looking into how aquatic plants regulate ecological balance within lakes and would like to assess the consequences of biodiversity loss for the provision of ecosystem services. There is more information about the project on our website or for instance here".

Ambroise will be in the field from 26th July to 9th August, and promises to send us photographs and updates. His Blog is on our list of Blogs by BSBI members so you can follow Ambroise's botanical and bryological adventures and see the surveys he has been involved in, both in Britain and across Europe. During this field trip to Northern Ireland, he will also be collecting some vegetative material for John Poland.

Lake in Donegal with Nymphaea alba
Image: M. Long

If you are involved in interesting research work (or know somebody who is) please consider sharing some details and images here. Your fellow botanists are keen to hear what you are seeing in the field. 

And images like the one of Ambroise (above) must be very reassuring to any young people considering a career in botany. You go to nice places and get to lie on the grass and peer at stuff, and because it's "research", it's all ok - as Sandy Knapp says, doing science is like being given a licence to have a great time! I suspect Ambroise will be working really hard in the field and for very long hours, but I bet he will enjoy it so much that it won't seem like a hard slog at all.