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Golden Algae
Project Summary: Incidences of harmful algal blooms (HABs) have increased in frequency, duration, and severity worldwide. Prymnesium parvum, also called golden algae, occurs worldwide and is responsible for large fish kills in coastal and inland water environments. Today P. parvum blooms have been identified in fresh and brackish water environments from New South Wales, Australia to Texas, USA. The occurrences of the blooms have diminished local community revenues from tourism, fishing, and hatchery production. We carried out an integrated research program focused on developing a predictive understanding of P. parvum toxic bloom formation and its control. Our investigation assessed P. parvum bloom dynamics by measuring the in-reservoir response of the phytoplankton community to experimental manipulation of each reservoir's planktonic foodweb, assessed the population growth physiology of P. parvum under the influence of potential limiting factors, and assessed the toxicity response of P. parvum under these changing conditions. Research Objectives: Objective 1. Assess the in-field population dynamics of a toxic P. parvum bloom in PossumKingdom Reservoir using in-reservoir enclosure experiments. Objective 2. Perform laboratory chemostat and semi-continuous experiments designed to elucidate physiological and toxicological characterizations of P. parvum cultures. Objective 3: Perform bioassays with samples from field experiments and laboratory cultures to identify toxic conditions caused by P. parvum Objective 4: Develop and validate a predictive model of P. parvum population demographics. Benefits of Research: Our results are providing an understanding of how P. parvum populations respond to direct intervention (i.e., additions of barley straw, ammonia) as well as to ecological controls more suitable to entire reservoir systems (i.e., nutrient supply, trophic dynamics). Relative toxicity tests established linkages between toxicity and physiological status of P. parvum populations, and comparisons of various toxicity endpoints assessed the potential of using faster, more economical tests of toxicity in assessing system risk. Ongoing and future research efforts are refining a predictive model of P. parvum growth capable of application to a number of systems, and understanding bloom initiation and termination dynamics in Texas reservoirs. |
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