Western Lake Erie’s annual summer algal blooms are triggered, at least in part, by cyanobacteria cells that survive the winter in lake-bottom sediments, then emerge in the spring to “seed” the next year’s bloom, according to a research team led by University of Michigan scientists.
Western Lake Erie’s annual summer algal blooms are triggered, at least in part, by cyanobacteria cells that survive the winter in lake-bottom sediments, then emerge in the spring to “seed” the next year’s bloom, according to a research team led by University of Michigan scientists.
The findings advance scientists’ understanding of the basic biology driving the annual summer blooms, which are both an unsightly nuisance and a potential public health hazard. In addition, the work identifies a mechanism to explain the rapid increase in Lake Erie bloom size and spatial extent in early summer.
“The study suggests that the initial buildup of blooms can happen at a much higher rate and over a larger spatial extent than would otherwise be possible, due to the broad presence of viable cells in sediments throughout the lake,” said study lead author Christine Kitchens, a research technician at the Cooperative Institute for Great Lakes Research (CIGLR) at U-M.
“These overwintering cells can quickly be entrained within the water column—particularly after a storm event—and start actively growing.”
Read more at University of Michigan
Image: Bright green cyanobacteria bloom on Lake Erie surface waters in August 2017. Credit: Christine Kitchens)
