The 5-year project compares HAB initiation and development at two coastal California HAB “hot spots,” Monterey Bay in Central California and San Pedro Bay in Southern California, each relatively different regarding the importance of upwelling, land use, and runoff. “A Regional Comparison of Upwelling and Coastal Land Use Patterns on the Development of HAB Hotspots along the California Coast” is a multidisciplinary, multi-institutional effort under the NCCOS Ecology and Oceanography of Harmful Algal Blooms (ECOHAB) program. The project focus is mainly on the HAB diatom Pseudo-nitzschia.

Together, the MBARI press release and Phys.org™ article describe the extensive research background and partnerships leading to the project’s success. The project is noteworthy for using new and advanced robotic sampling devices such as Environmental Sample Processors, underwater gliders, and autonomous underwater vehicles.  In addition, sub-surface drift samplers, remotely operated vehicles, satellites, and ships are part of the technical armada.

For more information, contact Quay.Dortch@noaa.gov

The Forum, convened by NOAA (NCCOS, National Data Buoy Center, Gulf Regional Collaboration Team, NCDDC) and the Northern Gulf Institute, and held at Stennis Space Center, MS, encompassed three separate meetings with intersecting objectives: 1) the 4th Annual Hypoxia Research Coordination Workshop; 2) Gulf Hypoxia Glider Application Meeting, and 3) Gulf Hypoxia Modeling Technical Review Meeting. Nearly 100 hypoxia researchers and managers from NOAA, academia, state, and other federal partners updated the science behind the Gulf of Mexico dead zone and laid the groundwork for two white papers to advance hypoxia monitoring and forecast modeling: the “Implementation Plan for Glider Application to Hypoxia Monitoring and Modeling,” and “Modeling Approaches for Scenario Forecasts of Gulf Hypoxia.”

At the same time, NOAA fulfilled its obligations as an official member of the Hypoxia Task Force with NCCOS’s Dr. Rob Magnien representing NOAA on behalf of Acting Administrator Kathryn Sullivan at the spring 2013 Public Meeting, Louisville, KY.  NCCOS also serves as chair of the Task Force’s Coordinating Committee. The Hypoxia Task Force holds periodic public meetings throughout the Mississippi River Basin to inform the public of the progress toward reducing Gulf hypoxia. The ultimate goal of NOAA’s hypoxia research, monitoring and modeling is to develop operational forecasts useful for implementing sound nutrient reduction strategies of the Hypoxia Task Force to mitigate Gulf hypoxia.

For more information, contact Alan.Lewitus@noaa.gov.

I later learned that the green scum that plagued the lake during summer months was a sign that the lake was actually overly alive. It gained its morbid reputation because when blooms of the tiny plant-like organisms die-off, the decomposition process consumes oxygen. In extreme cases, it creates an unpleasant, smelly mess and literally sucks the oxygen from the water.

With anoxic conditions like these, walleye pike and yellow perch alike turn belly-up and die or gasp for breath at the surface, unable to syphon oxygen from the water that flows through their gills.

Algae gets a bad rap sometimes, a reputation not always deserved. Many varieties of algae are beneficial to lakes, providing the basis of the food chain that supports the entire ecosystem. Other types, like cyanobacteria, produce toxins that are harmful to humans and can even cause death to animals that consume it. Large blooms, even non-toxic ones, affect ecosystem health.

Too much phosphorus, an essential element for plant growth, is the usual culprit in triggering algal blooms in lakes. It washes into lakes from agricultural runoff, sewage treatment plants, lawn fertilizer, water treatment plants, and septic systems. At the right water temperature, the more phosphorus there is in the water, the more algal growth you get.

Lake Erie suffered from toxic algae blooms in the 1970s, but with a major effort to reduce phosphorus loading, the blooms disappeared for nearly two decades. By the mid 1990s, conditions began to deteriorate again. When I sailed across the lake in late summer 2004, an algae bloom stretched from the Erie Islands to the western shore.

Continue reading “Harmful Algae Blooms Plague Lake Erie Again” posted by Lisa Borre in Water Currents on April 24, 2013.

For more information, contact Elizabeth.Turner@noaa.gov.

Pat Rose is an aquatic biologist and the executive director of the Save the Manatee Club, an organization devoted to preserving the animal. In his interview with TakePart, Rose reports the estimated minimum population of these gentle beasts is only 3,100 adults. That means their population has decreased by more than 10 percent in just four months.

Read more of this article by Douglas Main in TakePart.com.

Participants from discussed important ecosystem components for developing other ecological forecasts, especially those that can be used for predicting species distributions and population dynamics of living marine resources. Follow-up activities include the formation of a working group to identify priorities for regional forecasts.

The participants encouraged pilot projects that can link existing NOAA operational forecasts from the NWS and NOS (such as temperature, salinity and currents) to ecological models currently in use at the NOAA/NMFS Northeast Fisheries Science Center.

For more information, contact Elizabeth.Turner@noaa.gov.

IPHAB recommends initiatives such as a new global approach to HAB research to meet society needs in a changing world, improved research and management of ciguatera, and implementation of a new work plan for the IOC harmful algal bloom program for continued development. This collaboration demonstrates NOAA’s international leadership on HABs as well as within the US.

For more information, contact Rob.Magnien@noaa.gov

This year the team will use ESP cell and toxin data to regularly update over 150 state and federal managers and scientists who work to respond to toxic Alexandrium blooms. Data summaries will be added to the “Current Status” page of the WHOI Northeast PSP website.

The team is demonstrating how ESPs, as part of an observing network, can measure offshore levels of algae and toxin to give a real-time picture of rapidly changing populations and their toxicity. Previously that was available only by going to sea in ships. The effort has real potential to transform oceanography, enhance the Northeastern Regional Association of Coastal Ocean Observing System, and enable NOAA to make accurate operational HAB forecasts. This project is funded by the NOAA Monitoring and Event Response for Harmful Algal Blooms (MERHAB) project.

For more information, contact MERHAB program manager, Marc.Suddleson@noaa.gov.

Two recently released reports gives that question new relevance.

1. A nine-year project in New England showed that fertilizer-based pollutants carried in the Mississippi River led to the collapse of salt marshes dominated by the plant species that is a signature to much of Louisiana’s southeast coast.

2. A review of research on Louisiana’s freshwater diversions by a panel of experts from outside the state concluded they could find no solid evidence the projects would improve adjacent wetlands over the long term. The study suggested that the state’s Coastal Master Plan, built around large sediment diversions, should use a science-based approach, with ongoing monitoring and adjustments in diversion strategies as needed. For more information, contact Alan.Lewitus@noaa.gov.

The reports provide new information for those who support other methods of coastal restoration, and scientists recommending more research before river water is released into the wetlands.

Related content on this topic available on the NCCOS website, The Lens and FOX8 WVUE.

WHOI scientists helped develop and are testing buoy-mounted instruments to detect the cells of red tide-causing algae this summer. In the future, Northeastern Regional Association of Coastal and Ocean Observing Systems (NERACOOS) buoys could carry these instruments and detect a red tide in real-time, which could significantly improve forecasting and management of red tide events in the Gulf of Maine. To learn more about red tides and associated research, monitoring and forecasting efforts in the Northeast, please visit the Northeast PSP website.  Readers can access the NERACOOS press release here. For more information contact Quay.Dortch@noaa.gov.

The study led by the National Science Foundation noted farming practices such as tillage and fertilizer, more intense weather and increased runoff events have injected more phosphorus into Lake Erie all as potential causes. Additionally, after the bloom began to form, an extended period of weak circulation and warm weather further promoted its growth. The study authors predict that all of these factors are likely to continue to occur in the future, increasing the chances of these toxic blooms in the region.

For more information, contact Elizabeth.Turner@noaa.gov.

NCCOS-funded researchers performed a series of experiments to look at the days-to-months impacts of carbon dioxide (CO₂) on the larvae of northern quahogs (Mercenaria mercenaria) and Atlantic bay scallops (Argopecten irradians), and found early that exposure of larvae (≤ 4 days old) to high CO₂ definitely killed more larvae than larvae first exposed at an older age.

The researchers also found larva exposure to elevated CO₂ during the first four days of  development resulted  in lower shell calcification rates which contributed to higher mortality.  For the larvae that did survived the early exposure to high CO₂, they grew to smaller-size adults compared to the adults of larvae that did not experience early exposure to high levels of CO_2. 

For more information, contact Elizabeth.Turner@noaa.gov.

The primary purpose of LEPMAG is for fishery managers and stakeholders to collaborate updating the harvest policies for walleye and yellow perch. This group consists of stakeholders from all jurisdictions surrounding Lake Erie, Lake Erie managers, and agency staff; they will be developing a new management plan for yellow perch.

EcoFore research has demonstrated the need to include environmental variability into LEPMAG model development, especially the impacts of deep water hypoxia and sediment plumes from the Maumee River. Another factor to consider is climate change and related effects on watershed and lake processes. EcoFore research will factor heavily into future LEPMAG discussions and potential management models.

For more information, contact Elizabeth.Turner@noaa.gov

Funding from the National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science enables students, post-docs, and state managers to attend the symposium, ensuring diverse representation important to strengthen national and state efforts to reduce or eliminate algal bloom impacts. The symposium organizer Mote Marine Laboratory is accepting abstracts until May 24, 2013.

The NOAA National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science (NCCOS) is sponsoring this 7th Symposium on Harmful Algae in the United States.

For more information, visit the 7^th U.S. HAB Symposium website.