In a world of carp, be the cisco

“It’s a hell of a responsibility to be yourself. It’s much easier to be somebody else or nobody at all.”

-Sylvia Plath

Imagine sitting in a boat on a lake and the only fish you could catch was a carp, only one kind of bird was singing, and the only plants you saw on the shoreline were scrubby bushes. Are you bored yet? Not only would that experience feel empty, it would be ecologically unhealthy.

Nature thrives on diversity. Lakes are no exception. Beneath the surface lives an entire cast of characters, each with a specialized role or “niche.” We tend to group them into broad categories like algae-eaters, predators, and decomposers, but the real magic lies in the small, specialized stories most people never hear.

Take the Molanna caddisfly larva, a creature so tiny you’d never notice it unless you were truly looking. These tiny insects are like underwater gardeners. They build cases out of sand grains to protect themselves and spend their days cleaning up slimy layers of algae and microbes that grow on rocks and plants. By doing this, they help keep the lake healthy and clear. Molanna larvae are picky, they only live in clean water, so when scientists find them, it’s a good sign the lake is in great shape. The only place I have seen these caddisflies in Minnesota is in Rainy Lake.

Then there’s the cisco. While most fish prefer warm, shallow water, the cisco chooses the deep, cold, oxygen-rich zones of Minnesota’s clearest lakes. It spends its life cruising the open water, feasting on tiny zooplankton like Pac-Man eating ghosts. This unique lifestyle makes Cisco a critical link in the food chain between the tiny zooplankton and the large gamefish. But its niche is fragile. As lakes warm and oxygen levels drop, cisco habitat shrinks. Protecting these fish means protecting Minnesota’s most deep and pristine lakes.

Now as you’re sitting in that boat, imagine turning on the radio and hearing only one kind of song, one kind of voice. Boring, right? Yet in the music industry, the pressure to sound like whatever is currently popular is constant.

I’ve listened to interviews this past year with Brandi Carlile, Sabrina Carpenter, and Amanda Shires, and each of them were told to change their voice to become popular. They all have distinctive vibrato that is not as pronounced in their earlier music as it is in their latest albums. But it was when they used their unique voice that their careers took off. It’s a common story in art: people don’t “make it” until they become true to themselves and their own unique perspective.

I took this all to heart when starting this blog. I saw a social media post reminding creators that “the world isn’t waiting for more of the same”, and I’ve had it printed and visible at my desk ever since. I’ve learned my niche is this blend of science + heart. It’s how I see the world, and when I honor that, the work feels authentic.

Both lakes and music illustrate the same truth: diversity isn’t just interesting, it’s essential to life. In just one lake, there are hundreds of species of insects and fish each doing their own specialized jobs. In my Apple Music Replay this year I listed to 2,010 different artists of all different genres.

In a world that often nudges us toward being carp (common and predictable), be the cisco. Be the one-of-a-kind voice filling the role only you can fill.

Moriya Rufer is a lake biologist with 20 years experience working with and loving lakes in northern Minnesota.

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