Lake Erie Toxic Algae Bloom Info - June 2015

About a dozen charter boat captains scoop up Lake Erie water samples once a week for analysis at Ohio State University’s Stone Laboratory.

Planktothrix, a microcystin-producing cousin, began growing in Lake Erie’s Sandusky Bay a few weeks ago, which is not unusual. The warmth and shallowness of water there promotes growth of planktothrix from May through October.

On Mon, Jun 15,2015, a Lake Erie charter boat operator spotted an algae bloom, about 3.5 miles northeast of the Toledo water intake. The concentration of microcystis is so low right now that scientists don’t even know if it’s producing the toxin microcystin yet. There’s no sign of it at Toledo’s water intake or the city’s Collins Park Water Treatment Plant.

The microcystis sighting occurred sooner than normal. [But what does that mean? What's the average date for an initial sighting?]

Because of the June 15 microcystis sighting, NOAA will move up its planned weekly sampling by three weeks. NOAA had planned on taking water samples twice in June, and then start its weekly regimen on July 6.

Both microcystis and planktothrix are toxin-producing forms of cyanobacteria, meaning they are genetically bacteria but commonly called blue-green algae because of their appearance and because of how they mimic algae.

Microcystis became western Lake Erie’s dominant form of blue-green algae in 1995, and has held that distinction almost annually since.

http://www.toledoblade.com/local/2015/06/18/Lake-Erie-microcystis-found-in-low-levels.html

http://www.wspd.com/articles/local-news-toledo-315557/less-severe-algal-blooms-expected-13681981/

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