[1]
I am not a biologist. I am not an ecologist. And it
would be misleading to suggest my words should carry such weight. I’m a
painter— but by no means does that ascription resign one to a hermetic coterie
of aesthetes. My modest qualifications for compiling and ordering this
text stem from a long enduring fondness for the subject of aquatic ecosystems.
Why such devotion, I could never say with certitude, but perhaps
it’s an infatuation cultivated through dearth. For a geography subject to
perpetual drought, struggling to support a burgeoning urban population, there’s
absolutely nothing more welcome than rain. Even after living on a body of
water for a few years, the spectacle of precipitation has yet to falter.
College prompted the relocation to Milwaukee, and consequently, as
I’m sure is common with any major upheaval, the sense of dislocation left me
uncomfortably inarticulate. As a newcomer, outfitted with only an obtuse
understanding of my lush new surroundings, I was confronted with what felt like
a total lack of language. I’ve seen a couple of oceans and my share of lakes,
but I’ve never encountered anything like Lake Michigan. I still have
difficulty wrapping my head around the geophysical presence of the Great Lakes;
a condition unmitigated by the skewed, acculturated geography of a Texan.
The initial awkwardness aside, the move proved serendipitous for
an amateur naturalist. With some indulgence, I gravitated towards freshwater
sciences, eager to unpack the constituents and understand the mechanics of the forces
governing my new locale—my new community. So, to preemptively undercut
the melodrama of impetus, my
motives are underwhelmingly simplistic; the formalities of the field study are
more or less an excuse to spend time with the body of water I fell in love
with, the Milwaukee River.
The inquiry deals with the subject of freshwater ecosystems and is
primarily concerned with engaging concepts integral to lotic ecosystems
(streams and rivers). The subsequent pages will more pointedly disclose
the conceptual pretext and project design, but I thought to extend a
professional disclaimer out of courtesy.
Images
[1] http://s2.hubimg.com/u/6451329_f260.jpg
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