Topics include fungi, climate change and health, the Common Loon, wild rice restoration, and algal blooms in the Great Lakes.

PELLSTON, Michigan—The University of Michigan Biological Station welcomes the public to the historic research and teaching campus for the 2025 Summer Lecture Series.

The long-standing tradition at the field research station along Douglas Lake features distinguished scientists from across the country who open windows into the natural world and ignite discussions.

Topics include the fascinating world of fungi, how climate change affects your health, the impact of different milkweed species on monarch butterfly flight, all about the Common Loon, manoomin (wild rice) restoration, and nitrogen as a driver of harmful algal blooms in the Great Lakes.

The free, public talks are 7-8 p.m. Wednesdays in Gates Lecture Hall at the field research station, located at 9133 Biological Road in Pellston, which is about 20 miles south of the Mackinac Bridge.

“We are proud to welcome another spectacular lineup of dynamic speakers to our field station,” said Aimée Classen, director of the U-M Biological Station and a professor in the U-M Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology. “These summer evenings are a great opportunity to hear directly from leading experts in the U.S. focused on critical environmental issues and learn how the science impacts all of us.”

Speakers include:

• June 4: What Can We Learn About Sex from Studying Fungi?
  Timothy James teaches the Field Mycology course at the U-M Biological Station and is a professor of ecology and evolutionary biology at U-M, curator of fungi at the University Herbarium, and the Lewis E. Wehmeyer and Elaine Prince Wehmeyer Chair in Fungal Taxonomy. James will examine how fungi display a bewildering diversity in reproduction, from bizarre spore morphology to unusual sexual strategies, such as mating type and mate switching. He also will review patterns of evolutionary change and explore some of the unanswered questions in evolutionary biology regarding sex and why it is so widespread in all eukaryotes.
• June 11: Pettingill Lecture in Natural History: Manoomin—The Good Berry
  Frank Zomer is the inland fisheries biologist for the Bay Mills Indian Community and leads the manoomin, or wild rice, restoration program for the tribe. Zomer will discuss the importance of manoomin to Anishinaabe people, the history of manoomin in Michigan, reasons for its loss/decline across the state, and where we are now.
• June 25: Climate Change and Human Health
  Larry Junck is a neurologist studying how brain health is compromised by climate change. The U-M researcher and professor emeritus of neurology will discuss air pollution from fossil fuels, the effects of air pollution on human health, infections related to climate change, other health consequences of climate change, and what we as citizens and scientists can do.
• July 2: Hann Lecture in Ornithology: Little Looney: Lessons Learned as a Loon Biologist
  Jay Mager, professor of biological sciences at Ohio Northern University, will provide an overview of the life history of the Common Loon, share insight into the past work considering behavioral mechanisms by which loons select and defend breeding territories, and discuss current conservation practices by scientists and citizens to preserve and protect loon populations, including more recent work considering the behavior of loons during the nonbreeding season.
• July 9: Pettingill Lecture in Natural History: Mutualism: What Do We Know, and Where Do We Go From Here?
  Judith Bronstein is University Distinguished Professor of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at the University of Arizona, with a joint appointment in the Department of Entomology. She also is an alumna of the U-M Biological Station. Mutualism is cooperation among different species. Bronstein will discuss her recent work on pollination.
• July 23: Bennett Lecture in Mycology and Plant Biology: Cascades in Corn Cover Crops and Milkweeds that Make Migrating Monarchs: Chemical Ecology at the Intersection of Pest Management and Conservation
  Jared Ali, director of the Center for Chemical Ecology and acting director of the Ecology Research Institute at Penn State University, will discuss how different milkweed species impact monarch butterfly flight, shedding light on the chemical cues that shape migration. He’ll also highlight ways to support both agricultural sustainability and insect biodiversity.
• July 30: Nitrogen as a Driver of HABs in the Great Lakes
  Silvia Newell is the director of Michigan Sea Grant and a professor at the U-M School for Environment and Sustainability. Harmful algal blooms can cause fish kills, foul up nearby coastlines and produce conditions that are dangerous to aquatic life, as well as humans. Newell is a nutrient biogeochemist and microbial ecologist who researches the effects of excess nutrients from fertilizer and wastewater on inland and coastal waters, with a focus on harmful algal blooms in Lake Erie. She engages stakeholders to develop realistic pathways for nutrient reduction.

In collaboration with community partners, UMBS will also take its Summer Lecture Series on the road at 6 p.m. July 29 at Charlevoix Public Library.

• July 29: The Art of Science Filmmaking with Sharon Shattuck
  Award-winning documentary filmmaker and U-M Biological Station alumna Sharon Shattuck will screen three new short films and talk about bringing science—with a particular focus on women in science—to life on screen. From her Emmy-nominated feature documentary “Picture A Scientist” (2020) to an award-winning series of short films about microbes featuring handmade paper puppetry, Sharon will pull back the curtain to reveal her creative process and efforts to make science entertaining and fun for all.

Full list of the 2025 Summer Lecture Series