Open water plants in Brownie Lake include yellow and white water lilies, coontail, pondweeds, and lesser duckweed.
The aquatic invasive species Eurasian watermilfoil and curly-leaf pondweed are also present.
The surrounding area is composed of altered forest/woodland, prairie, and dry-mesic forest/woodland.

The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources reports a number of fish taxa in Brownie Lake including black bullhead, black crappie, bluegill, hybrid sunfish, largemouth bass, northern pike, pumpkinseed, tiger muskellunge, walleye, yellow bullhead, yellow perch, bowfin (dogfish), common carp, white sucker, fathead minnow, and golden shiner.

Phytoplankton predominate over zooplankton in Brownie Lake.
In recent monitoring (2012), Cryptomonads (Cryptophyta) were most abundant in winter.
Chrysophyte populations peaked in April, while Dinoflagellates (Pyrrhophyta) and green algae (Chlorophyta) both peaked in June.
The summer was then dominated by cyanobacteria (Cyanophyta), with an increase in Cryptomonad (Cryptophyta) abundance by October.

Brownie Lake is inhabited by methanogenic archaea in the anoxic bottom waters, and a population of methanotrophic bacteria at the chemocline, which consume methane diffusing out of the anoxic portion of the lake.
Open water plants in Brownie Lake include yellow and white water lilies, coontail, pondweeds, and lesser duckweed. The aquatic invasive species Eurasian watermilfoil and curly-leaf pondweed are also present. The surrounding area is composed of altered forest/woodland, prairie, and dry-mesic forest/woodland.
The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources reports a number of fish taxa in Brownie Lake including black bullhead, black crappie, bluegill, hybrid sunfish, largemouth bass, northern pike, pumpkinseed, tiger muskellunge, walleye, yellow bullhead, yellow perch, bowfin (dogfish), common carp, white sucker, fathead minnow, and golden shiner.
Phytoplankton predominate over zooplankton in Brownie Lake. In recent monitoring (2012), Cryptomonads (Cryptophyta) were most abundant in winter. Chrysophyte populations peaked in April, while Dinoflagellates (Pyrrhophyta) and green algae (Chlorophyta) both peaked in June. The summer was then dominated by cyanobacteria (Cyanophyta), with an increase in Cryptomonad (Cryptophyta) abundance by October.
Brownie Lake is inhabited by methanogenic archaea in the anoxic bottom waters, and a population of methanotrophic bacteria at the chemocline, which consume methane diffusing out of the anoxic portion of the lake.
Brownie Lake