Monitoring for Harmful Algal Blooms | From Data to Decisions

Stephanie A. Smith, Ph.D.

[email protected]

Monitoring for Harmful Algal Blooms From Data to Decisions – Part I

Today’s Agenda

Introductions

Defining “Harmful” Algal Blooms (HABs) •  Factors that contribute to HABs & why they are problematic

Monitoring Water Quality for HABs •  Parameters that lead to or result from blooms

Understanding Algal Pigments & Fluorescence-Based Sensing •  From satellites to handheld devices

Leveraging Pigment Data to Mitigate Blooms

Q&A

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Our Featured Speaker

Dr. Stephanie A. Smith

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BACKGROUND Ph.D. in Microbiology The Ohio State University §  Assistant Professor §  Senior Scientist §  Entrepreneur §  Product Manager

The World of Harmful Algal Blooms

Freshwater Marine

Chris Goble, Stony Brook, Long Island NY

CBC Canada

Freshwater HABs are obvious, right?

Or are they?....

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P. rubescens and M. aeruginosa Heather Raymond, OH EPA, 2012

Suspected Planktothrix rubescens, but turned out to be Euglena Heather Raymond, OH EPA, 2012

Or are they?....

Ohio EPA, accessed February 2013 www.epa.state.oh.us/portals/35/inland_lakes/

Planktothrix, Linda Merchant-Masonbrink

Cylindrospermopsis, Heather Raymond

Or are they?

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Lake St. Clair, MI Photo Vijay Kannappan, 2012 WBEZ News December 23, 2012

What is a Harmful Algal Bloom?

•  “Bloom” — overgrowth of algae, usually (but not always) visible or obvious

•  “Algae” — often not true algae, but rather cyanobacteria, a.k.a. “blue-green algae”

•  “Harmful” —posing a potential threat to animal and human health

HAB Impacts:

o  Toxins

Toxic Cyanobacteria

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Toxin Organisms Target Effects

Microcystin Microcystis, Anabaena, Aphanizomenon, Anabaenopsis, Planktothrix

Liver Abdominal pain, vomiting and diarrhea, liver inflammation, dermatitis, and more…

Anatoxin Anabaena, Aphanizomenon, Cylindrospermopsis, Oscillatoria, Planktothrix

Nervous system

Tingling, burning, numbness, drowsiness, slurred speech

Cylindro-spermopsin

Cylindrospermopsis,Aphanizom-enon, Umezakia, Lyngbya, Rhaphidiopsis, Anabaena

Liver See Microcystin

Saxitoxin Scytonema, Lyngbya Nervous system

Tingling, numbness, nausea, vomiting. Can result in paralysis and possible death.

But are toxins all that matter? (POLL #1)

Photos by Steve Morton, NOAA

But are toxins all that matter?

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Ohio EPA, 2011 http://epa.ohio.gov/portals/28/LakeErie_NonDetectAtIntake.jpg

But are toxins all that matter?

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What is a Harmful Algal Bloom?

•  “Bloom” — overgrowth of algae, usually (but not always) visible or obvious

•  “Algae” — often not true algae, but rather cyanobacteria, a.k.a. “blue-green algae”

•  “Harmful” —posing a potential threat to animal and human health and/or causing adverse ecological impacts

HAB Impacts: o  Toxins o  Anoxic conditions that kill fish o  Taste and odor issues in drinking water o  Economic damage at recreational lakes

What are you going to do about it?

“Actual detection of HABs and forecasting of blooms is very important to NIEHS, because that allows us to employ prevention strategies,” Tyson says. “If people have a better way of detecting, then they have a better way of forecasting and providing the public with information they need to protect themselves.”

—Fred Tyson, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences,

from Environ Health Perspect 2014 22(8):A206-A213.

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What are you going to do about it?

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But what are you going to detect?

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Bloom Conditions - Weather

Monitor this… Because…

Temperature High temperatures favor cyanobacteria

Barometric pressure

Affects dissolved gases at water’s surface

Wind Blooms can migrate with wind patterns, and wind impacts mixing

PAR Photosynthetically Active Radiation—the energy source for growth of blue-green algae

Rainfall Can stimulate nutrient introduction into waterways

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HAB Monitoring - Meteorological

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Bloom Conditions — Water Quality

Monitor this… Because…

Temperature High temperatures favor cyanobacteria

pH ↑ pH due to high growth; makes CO2 more bioavailable

Turbidity A surrogate for increased biomass; may also be indicative of nutrient-bearing suspended solids during runoff events

dO2 Decreases during a bloom; can lead to fish kills

Conductivity Blue-green algae generally thrive in lower conductivity

Nitrogen and phosphorus

Growth-limiting nutrients can stimulate blooms when in high concentrations (eutrophic water)

Chlorophyll Found in almost all algae

Phycocyanin Found specifically in freshwater blue-green algae

Phycoerythrin Found specifically in marine blue-green algae

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HAB Monitoring—Water Quality

Section Summary

It isn’t always easy to see a Harmful Algal Bloom •  By the time you can it’s too late! •  Not all blooms look alike; you might have one and not know •  Just because it looks heavy, doesn’t mean it’s making toxins

Early detection of a bloom is optimal

The best approach to detection is to monitor a suite of meteorological and water quality parameters

The most widely used fluorescence-based tools leverage the pigments of algae

Understanding Algal Pigments

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Cyanobacteria = Blue-Green Algae ...but are they Algae?

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Barry Rosen, USGS

Anabaena Lyngbya

Microcystis

Cyanobacteria are bacteria, which means that they...

•  Grow faster than a lot of other microplankton

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Figure 4 from Paerl & Paul (2012), Water Research 46:1349-1363

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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chloroplast

Cyanobacteria are bacteria, which means that they...

•  Have some unique pigments in their thylakoids

In the thylakoids...

26 Campbell D et al. Microbial. Mol. Biol. Rev. 1998;62:667-683

PC

Chl

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Everything that does photosynthesis has

Chlorophyll

Chlorophyll

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Chlorophyll

Blue-green algae have

Phycocyanin

Phycocyanin in Cyanobacteria

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HAB Monitoring

Chlorophyll

Chlorophyll Chlorophyll


= More Algae

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HAB Monitoring + PC

Chlorophyll



= More Blue-Green Algae

Phycocyanin

Phycocyanin Phycocyanin

Phycocyanin Phycocyanin

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Waste Heat

6 CO2 + 6 H2O C6H12O6 + 6 O2 Photosynthesis

Other Fates •  Pigment destruction •  Triplet state conversion •  Reactive Oxygen generation

Light (Fluorescence)

Photosynthetic Pigments are Fluorescent

PC

Chl

PE

What is Fluorescence?

Absorption •  A molecule absorbs light •  Sometimes called “excitation”

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Emission •  The molecule emits light of a

longer wavelength, but lower energy

•  The energy that was absorbed but not released as light went somewhere else: waste heat, photosynthesis, etc.

•  Individual photosynthetic pigments have unique absorption and emission spectra

Absorption and Emission Spectra of Chlorophyll

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Chlorophyll a in methanol

Absorption and Emission spectra of Phycocyanin

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Phycocyanin in water

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Waste Heat

6 CO2 + 6 H2O C6H12O6 + 6 O2 Photosynthesis

Other Fates •  Pigment destruction •  Triplet state conversion •  Reactive Oxygen generation

Light (Fluorescence)

In the Thylakoids…

PC

Chl

PE

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Pigment Peak Ex ʎ Peak Em ʎ

Phycoerythrin 550 650

Phycocyanin 625 650

Allo-phycocyanin

615,650 655

Chlorophyll 440, 662 680

•  Chlorophyll can absorb some of the light emitted by PE and PC

•  Sensors measure the emitted light

•  Big advantage: highly sensitive measurements, with high specificity

Fluorescent Pigments

We can identify pigments based on their absorption and emission spectra:

Section Summary

Chlorophyll, phycocyanin, and phycoerythrin function in photosynthesis •  Phycoerythrin is mainly in marine cyanobacteria

Each pigment is fluorescent, with unique excitation and emission properties

Some pigments emit light that gets absorbed by other pigments •  E.g., phycocyanin emits light that can be absorbed by chlorophyll

Fluorescence forms the basis for highly sensitive, and highly specific monitoring and measurement tools for cyanobacteria

Water Quality Monitoring for HABs: How to Monitor Using Pigments

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HAB Monitoring

Monitoring Satellites

Handheld Fluorometers

Continuous Monitoring

Grab Samples

Fixed Buoy with Sonde

Spot Monitoring Vertical Profiling

with Sonde

Lab Analyses

Telemetry Satellites

Grab Samples & Lab Analysis

Measuring, which is distinct from monitoring •  Slow and expensive for making decisions •  Still necessary to ground-truth monitoring data •  Paired with monitoring:

o  Reduce material & labor costs o  Reduce time

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Sample Concentrate Extract Measure

Grab Samples and Lab Analysis

EPA 544 LC/MS/MS for Microcystins

Enzyme-linked Immunosorbent Assays (ELISA)

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HAB Monitoring




Grab Samples



with Sonde

Lab Analyses


Satellite Monitoring

•  Spectral analysis of fluorescent pigments •  Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer

(MODIS) sensors aboard the Terra and Aqua satellites and the Ocean and Land Color Instrument (OLCI) sensor aboard the Sentinel-3 satellite

•  Gulf of Mexico and Lake Erie Monitoring by NOAA

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NOAA HAB Bulletin, 20 July 2017

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Planktothrix

Microcystis

To subscribe: https://public.govdelivery.com/accounts/USNOAANOS/subscriber/new

NOAA HAB Bulletin, 24 July 2017

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Satellite Monitoring

Data to Decisions: Are conditions similar in your area?

•  Often when things are happening in Erie, they’re heating up in the Midwest!

Limited to major bodies of water for now

•  Commercial offerings are emerging Some occlusion from cloud cover Only uses pigments—no other parameters at this time

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HAB Monitoring




Grab Samples



with Sonde

Lab Analyses


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HAB Monitoring




Grab Samples



with Sonde

Lab Analyses


Multiparameter Monitoring

Water Quality Sensors for: •  Turbidity •  pH •  Temperature / Conductivity •  dO2

Total Algae Sensor (TAL) •  Chlorophyll and •  Phycocyanin or phycoerythrin

Central wiper to protect against sensor fouling Internal or external continuous data logging

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Multiparameter Monitoring

Multiparameter Monitoring: Continuous or Spot

Spot Sampling or Continuous: Which approach makes sense for you?

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11.66 mg/l

10.27

mg/l

9.58mg/l

Weekly


11.66 mg/l

10.27 mg/l

9.58mg/l

Weekly

Daily


11.66 mg/l

10.27 mg/l

9.58mg/l

Weekly

Daily

Hourly


Continuous HAB Monitoring

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0.00

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12/12/2015 1/31/2016 3/21/2016 5/10/2016 6/29/2016 8/18/2016 10/7/2016 11/26/2016 1/15/2017 3/6/2017 4/25/2017

Pre

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itat

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(inc

hes)

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YSI Test Site

BGA PC Conc

precip

Continuous HAB Monitoring

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0.00

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12/12/2015 1/31/2016 3/21/2016 5/10/2016 6/29/2016 8/18/2016 10/7/2016 11/26/2016 1/15/2017 3/6/2017 4/25/2017

Pre

cip

itat

ion

(inc

hes)

Chl

orop

hyll

ug/L

YSI Test Site

Chlorophyll

precip


Data to Decisions: •  Use to guide a program of grab samples/lab analyses •  Pair with metrological data to support your decisions •  How much data do you need to make your decisions? •  YSI Facebook Live Event

Continuous can yield very large data sets: every 15 min for up to 90 days!

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HAB Monitoring




Grab Samples



with Sonde

Lab Analyses


Profiling with Telemetry

•  Powerful combination of multiparameter monitoring with telemetry of data

•  Fixed and floating systems •  Vertical profiling offers major advantages in

the context of HABs

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Vertical distribution of M. aeruginosa

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Credit: http://www1.biologie.uni-hamburg.de/b-online/library/webb/BOT311/Cyanobacteria/Cyanobacteria.htm

Vertical distribution of M. aeruginosa

Coupling hydrodynamics and buoyancy regulation in Microcystis aeruginosa for its vertical distribution in lakes.

Medrano et al. (2013) Ecological Modelling 248:41-56 60

1

2 3

4

Percent actively sinking

Source Water Monitoring ISS Profiler

Weather

Telemetry

Data Acquisition

Water Quality

Profiling with Telemetry

Data to Decisions: •  Get your data where you want it, when you want it •  Key decisions like where to intake your water, when

and where to treat source waters •  But it’s a lot of data....

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HAB Monitoring




Grab Samples



with Sonde

Lab Analyses


Final Summary

Fluorescent pigments are the basis for the most sensitive HAB monitoring tools available today

•  Pigments are used in a variety of monitoring and measuring contexts

•  For early detection of HABs, pair pigment monitoring with monitoring for other WQ parameters

Combined with telemetry, managers can have immediate insights to help them respond rapidly to an oncoming HAB

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Available (and Upcoming) HAB Resources

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Future Webinar

Data to Decisions Part II: Handling the Data •  Interest in a deeper dive on the sensor technologies? •  Upcoming partnership with Aquatic Informatics

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You might want to follow...

NOAA Harmful Algal Bloom Operational Forecast System (HAB-OFS) https://tidesandcurrents.noaa.gov/hab_info.html

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You might want to follow...

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Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission’s Red Tide Status http://myfwc.com/REDTIDESTATUS

Mission: Water Magazine | Issue No. 3

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Q&A with Dr. Stephanie A. Smith

[email protected]

+1 (937) 767-2762

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