University of Wisconsin–Madison

Welcome to the Vander Zanden Lab

Jake is wearning a brimmed hat, looking at the camera ad smiling with a mountain range in the background on a clear, sunny day.

We study freshwater ecosystems and the factors that degrade them. Our work often adopts a food web approach and involves integrating physical, chemical, and biological aspects to understand these systems. Our goal is to produce innovative and useful research aimed at improving our understanding of freshwater ecosystems, and finding solutions to real-world problems. 

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“Diversity is a source of strength, creativity, and innovation for UW-Madison. We value the contributions of each person and respect the profound ways their identity, culture, background, experience, status, abilities, and opinion enrich the university community. We commit ourselves to the pursuit of excellence in teaching, research, outreach, and diversity as inextricably linked goals.rnrnThe University of Wisconsin-Madison fulfills its public mission by creating a welcoming and inclusive community for people from every background—people who as students, faculty, and staff serve Wisconsin and the world.”