GLIN==> Researchers Find Harmful Algae Growing in Tributaries Earlier in Year than Previously Thought

Researchers Find Harmful Algae Growing in Tributaries Earlier in Year than
Previously Thought

 

July 1, 2011
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

 

COLUMBUS, OH-Scientists have discovered samples of harmful algae farther
from Lake Erie and earlier in the year than they expected. In a two-year
project, Dr. David Culver of Ohio State University and Dr. Doug Kane of
Defiance College found Microcystis, cyanobacteria that produce toxins, in
small tributaries as far as 50 miles away from the lake in April. The
scientists are collaborating with other researchers and managers to try and
solve the problem.

 

Microcystis, the most commonly occurring harmful algae in Lake Erie, has
produced toxins reaching levels three times above the recommended limit for
swimming beaches in areas of the lake. Harmful algal blooms turn the water
into a smelly green soup that endangers the $11 billion that tourists spend
in Ohio while visiting Lake Erie. To make matters worse, as Microcystis dies
and decomposes, it consumes oxygen from the water. "Dead Zones" form in
parts of Lake Erie's Central Basin where oxygen levels drop too low to
support the walleye, yellow perch, and other aquatic life that have made
Lake Erie an angling destination.

 

The main fuel for this algae is phosphorus that washes into the lake from
agricultural field fertilizer and animal manure. Lake Erie receives more
nutrient runoff than the other Great Lakes because its watershed consists
mainly of agricultural fields and urban areas.

 

Until now, Lake Erie scientists haven't looked for Microcystis upstream in
the lake's tributaries. It was thought that only phosphorus and other
nutrients wash into the lake and fertilize the Microcystis already in the
lake. That's true, but Culver's and Kane's work shows that a significant
amount of algae itself may enter the lake along with the nutrients.

 

Culver's and Kane's work is part of an effort led by Ohio Sea Grant and a
bi-national team of 15 scientists from 11 institutions, agencies to reduce
phosphorus loading into the lake. The group of researchers and ecosystem
managers has created a report that synthesizes findings from seven research
projects supported by grants from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
and the Ohio Lake Erie Commission. The report, available at
<http://go.osu.edu/phosphorus> go.osu.edu/phosphorus, uses layman language
to explain findings from the research and their management implications to
head off the algae and restore Lake Erie.

 

The lake faced huge algal blooms 40 years ago that scientists were able to
shrink by reducing the amount of phosphorus and other nutrients that ran off
into the water. By the 1980s, the lake was beginning to thrive again,
contributing to Ohio's tourism economy, and becoming the Walleye Capital of
the World.

 

Ohio State University's Ohio Sea Grant program is part of NOAA Sea Grant, a
network of 32 Sea Grant programs dedicated to the protection and sustainable
use of marine and Great Lakes resources. For information on Ohio Sea Grant
and Stone Lab, visit ohioseagrant.osu.edu.

 

To learn more about this Ohio Sea Grant-funded research, visit
<http://ohioseagrant.osu.edu/_documents/twineline/v33i2.pdf>
ohioseagrant.osu.edu/_documents/twineline/v33i2.pdf.

 

###

 

Contact:

Dr. David Culver, Professor, Department of Evolution, Ecology, and
Organismal Biology, Ohio State University, 614.292.6995,
<mailto:culver.3 at osu.edu> culver.3 at osu.edu.

 

Dr. Doug Kane, Assistant Professor of Biology, Division of Science and
Mathematics at Defiance College,  <mailto:dkane at defiance.edu>
dkane at defiance.edu.

 

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