People searching online for control options related to unwanted plants that grow in lakes and rivers use many different terms. Some call them “lake weeds,” other call them “freshwater seaweed,” still others “cabbage.” Rarely do people search with the same terms that natural resource managers and scientists use, such as the plants’ Latin names or the more formal, “submerged aquatic vegetation.”

These are findings of a study on internet keyword search terms conducted by University of Wisconsin-Madison researchers that was recently published in the “Journal of Aquatic Plant Management.”

Wisconsin Sea Grant Aquatic Invasive Species Outreach Specialist Tim Cambell explains that how people search for information about aquatic plants is critical for guiding professionals on best practices for educational programming and outreach. Such education could also steer people away from the ineffective and potentially harmful use of herbicides in lakes and toward more ecologically sound solutions.