Great Lakes HABs Collaboratory Aims for Collective Impact on HABs
The HABs Collaboratory follows the “Collective Impact” model, where individuals from a variety of different groups come together to solve a specific problem and are supported by a neutral backbone organization. The HABs Collaboratory provides a unique opportunity for researchers to interact with other researchers from a variety of disciplines and institutions and to facilitate the use of scientific information to support relevant decisions by managers and practitioners.
Cyanobacteria Monitoring Collaborative
The Cyanobacteria Monitoring Collaborative monitoring activities are carried out under three different program “tiers” that represent different monitoring objectives and complexity. Regardless of the level of expertise involved, all three programs (bloomWatch, cyanoScope, and cyanoMonitoring), in addition to professional monitoring entities, leverage the collection of data by crowdsourcing and citizen science.
Assessing Water Quality Trends in Affected Ontario Lakes
Unfortunately, for many lakes, long-term monitoring information on bloom history, productivity and nutrient levels, water column temperature, and other factors that may contribute to algal bloom formation often only exist for the last few years, if at all. Paleolimnology offers valuable insights into past environmental conditions to improve our understanding of current lake management issues.
Toxin Risk – Tools for Warning
Increased frequency and severity of cyanobacterial blooms suggests that toxins are a threat that must be taken seriously. However, not all cyanobacteria are toxic – so how can we know which blooms pose a health risk? We developed both now- casting and forecasting approaches based on a nine-year data set of microcystin concentrations collected biweekly from Buffalo Pound during summer months
Transport of Microcystins from Lakes & Reservoirs to Coastal Environments
While many cyanobacteria species can produce microcystins, these toxins are often associated with Microcystis, a genus that thrives in warm, nutrient rich waters. Although Microcystis is normally associated with freshwater ... it has been shown to survive in even higher salinities and can sustain growth for short periods in pure seawater.
Beyond Total Microcystins
Although there are over 100 known variants of microcystins, there remains a great deal of variation in the way microcystins are analyzed, quantified, and reported in the literature and by monitoring agencies. An important shortcoming ... is the reliable reporting of different microcystin variants, as well as the use of comparable laboratory techniques.
Old Habits are Hard to Break: Modern HABs, Nitrogen, Lake Management
The question for many scientists studying the fate of this “new” reactive nitrogen in aquatic systems is: Since decades of phosphorus-focused management has not prevented them from occurring, what is promoting non-nitrogen-fixing cyanobacteria, causing them to form blooms and produce toxins? A growing body of evidence shows that the amount and form of nitrogen available to primary producers plays an important role in answering this question.
NALMS Position Paper on Toxic Cyanobacterial Blooms
WHAT WILL I LEARN?
NALMS publishes position papers on topics it determines to be of great importance to the lake management community. This position paper focuses on toxin-producing cyanobacteria, a growing issue for lake managers and public health officials throughout the world.
Getting to Know Cyanobacteria: basics, blooms, toxins, and taxa
Get up to speed on cyanobacteria (a.k.a. blue-green algae) including a general overview, information on conditions which lead to blooms, details regarding cyanobacterial toxins, and a rundown of the main toxin-producing groups of cyanobacteria.
Phytoplankton Monitoring Network: Using Mobile Technologies for Research & Education
The Phytoplankton Monitoring Network is a collaborative “citizen science” program. It allows volunteers across the country to work with NOAA scientists in the study and identification of potentially harmful phytoplankton. A smart phone application, Phyto, helps volunteers learn to identify phytoplankton and as a reference guide to use when analyzing a sample.
