2018 Concurrent Session - Harmful Algal Blooms - SUNY ESF
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- 2018 Concurrent Session -
Harmful Algal Blooms
Presentation 1 – An Oligotrophic Lake’s Harmful Algal Bloom
Impact and Response
Dr. Cornelius B. Murphy, Jr., Senior Fellow for Environmental and
Sustainably Systems, SUNY ESF
ABSTRACT
Skaneateles Lake has historically recorded orthophosphate
concentrations in the range of 5 to 6 ug/l. The pearl of the Finger Lakes
having no point source wastewater discharges and a AA water quality
classification encountered a bloom of cyanobacteria in September of
2017. This followed intense storms in the month of June and early July.
The story of Skaneateles is even more complex. As a deep cold water oligotrophic lake with very low
nutrient water column concentrations, it has no history of cyanobacteria blooms. The Lake and
Watershed nutrient management plan is being developed. Cause of the bloom is clearly more than the
water column total phosphorus concentration but also about phosphorous speciation and sediment
release as well as high water column temperatures.
The course of the Harmful Algal Bloom and its impact on water quality and its possible impact the City of
Syracuse drinking water filtration waiver is dependent upon both good science and on the timely
application of Best Management Practices in the Watershed.
Will the multispectral scanner on NASA’s LANDSAT satellite and drones be part of the early warning
system? Can ultrasonic devices be deployed in the early stage of a developing bloom reduce its impact?
Can advanced oxidation systems effectively destroy the microcystins and protect the potable water
consumers? And lastly, can precision agriculture be at the heart of a nutrient reduction program?
BIOGRAPHY
Cornelius B. Murphy, Jr., is Senior Fellow for Environmental and Sustainable Systems at the SUNY
College of Environmental Science and Forestry (ESF) in Syracuse, N.Y. He is the former president of
ESF. Dr. Murphy was previously president and chairman of the board of O"Brien & Gere, an
environmental engineering firm based in Syracuse. He has a Ph.D. in chemistry from Syracuse
University, where he was a NASA Fellow, and a B.A. in chemistry from St. Michael's College.
Presentation 2 - Not Your Father's Eutrophication? Cyanobacteria
and Climate Change
Dr. Kim Schulz, Associate Professor, Department of Environmental and
Forest Biology, SUNY ESF
ABSTRACT
In the late 1960s and 1970s, eutrophication was a widespread problem
in North America and Europe. Extensive phytoplankton blooms created
unsightly and pungent surface waters, leading to lowered oxygen
concentrations in the bottom of lakes as the algae died, sank and
decayed. Fish kills resulting from this hypoxia were featured in many
newspaper photos of fish carcasses lining lakeshores. After some
controversy and debate regarding causes of this eutrophication, critical
10th Annual New York State Biotechnology Symposium
- May 17 & 18, 2018 at SUNY ESF, Syracuse, NY –
http://www.esf.edu/biotechsym/
lab and field experiments demonstrated that the primary culprit was excess phosphorus loading (and low
nitrogen to phosphorus ratios) from sources such as sewage, fertilizers, and detergents. Subsequent
technology and legislation dramatically decreased phosphorus loading to many lakes, with concomitant
declines in algal blooms and fish kills.
We have new concerns in the 2010s about eutrophication, especially increased dominance of toxic
cyanobacteria that are responsible for harmful algal blooms, contaminating drinking water and
endangering the health of bathers, pets and wildlife. Is the solution as simple as further reductions in
phosphorus concentration?
A number of affected lakes have relatively low phosphorus concentrations. Evidence suggests that the
timing and magnitude of blooms are changing in part due to factors associated with climate change --
including duration of ice cover, strength of lake stratification and internal loading, surface temperatures,
timing of rainstorms, and magnitude of runoff events. These factors, in combination with invasion of non-
native species, may shift dominance of the lake’s phytoplankton toward cyanobacteria. Incorporating
current climate and lake biota into our strategic plans for remediating today’s harmful algal blooms is
essential.
BIOGRAPHY
Schulz has more than 25 years of experience with field, laboratory and modeling investigations of lower
food web dynamics in lakes, ponds, streams and wetlands. She has studied the effects of nutrient
dynamics, stoichiometry, natural and anthropogenic contaminants, biochemistry, invasive species and
HABs on focal organisms and food webs. Schulz has spearheaded the effort to develop the Center for
Integrated Research and Teaching in Aquatic Science at ESF. Schulz teaches Limnology, Limnology
Practicum, Marine Ecology and other field and graduate-level courses. Over twenty students have
completed their graduate work with her research group. She developed the Marine Science Minor and is
the Environmental Biology representative to the Water Resources Minor. Schulz is a graduate of Cornell
University (BA, 1990) and The University of Michigan (Ph.D., 1996) and was a National Science
Foundation Postdoctoral Fellow in Bioscience Related to the Environment, working at the University of
Minnesota and the University of Oslo, Norway. She was a Sabbatical Fellow at the National Center for
Ecological Analysis and Synthesis in Santa Barbara, CA and received the SUNY ESF Exemplary
Researcher Award in 2012. Since 2013 she has also served as the Roosevelt Wildlife Station Aquatic
Ecologist in Residence.
Presentation 3 – Hydrogen Peroxide and its Use for Controlling
Harmful Algal Blooms
Dr. Greg Boyer, Professor of Biochemistry and Director of the Great Lakes
Research Consortium, SUNY ESF
ABSTRACT
Harmful algal blooms (HAB) are becoming increasingly common worldwide.
The blooms are caused by cyanobacteria (Blue-green algae), many of which
produce toxins that impact recreation, human health, and ecosystem health.
While the long term solution is to control nutrient inputs to the water body,
there is considerable interest in short term fixes which may dissipate a
bloom quickly. One approach to limit the growth of cyanobacteria is
through the use of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2). Here, we tested the
sensitivity of ten different species of algae to hydrogen peroxide in culture. Cyanobacteria (7) and
chlorophytes (3) were grown in Z8 media with H2O2 added at various concentrations between 0.3 and 10
mM peroxide. The effect of hydrogen peroxide on growth was highly variable, with different species, even
within the same genus, reacting differently to the additions. The generally accepted notion that
cyanobacteria were more sensitive to hydrogen peroxide that green algae was not supported by these
experiments. Both cyanobacteria and chlorophytes both have catalase activity and other factors such as
10th Annual New York State Biotechnology Symposium
- May 17 & 18, 2018 at SUNY ESF, Syracuse, NY –
http://www.esf.edu/biotechsym/
light intensity may dramatically impact the effectiveness of this chemical. The use of H2O2 to control
harmful cyanobacterial blooms should be carefully considered as a control mechanism, as unintended
consequences may result from its widespread use.
BIOGRAPHY
Dr. Boyer received his B.A. Degree in Biochemistry from the University of California at Berkeley and his
Ph.D. degree in Biochemistry from the University of Wisconsin. After postdoctoral fellowships at the Plant
Research Labs at Michigan State University and in the Department of Oceanography at the University of
British Columbia, he joined the Faculty of Chemistry at SUNY-ESF in 1985. Dr. Boyer’s expertise is with
toxins and other compounds produced by marine and freshwater algae. He was director of NOAA’s
Lower Great Lakes project to develop monitoring strategies for toxic blue-green algae in the lower great
lakes and currently assists the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation with their Citizen State
Lake Assessment Program with algal issues. He has authored over 130 publications on bioactive natural
products, served as a PI on over $10M in research funding, served as chair of the Department of
Chemistry at SUNY-ESF for four years and is an advisor to the International Joint Commission on issues
regarding Harmful Algal Blooms within the Great Lakes. He is the current director of New York’s Great
Lakes Research Consortium. The GLRC consists of 18 New York Universities and nine Canadian
Universities, almost 300 scientists in total, working on all aspects of Great Lakes Science, education and
outreach.
10th Annual New York State Biotechnology Symposium
- May 17 & 18, 2018 at SUNY ESF, Syracuse, NY –
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