Evaluation of cyanobacteria cell count detection derived from MERIS imagery across the eastern USA

Lake Erie is a large lake straddling the border of the USA and Canada that has become increasingly eutrophic in recent years. Eutrophication is particularly focused in the shallow western basin. The western basin of Lake Erie is hydrodynamically similar to a large estuary, with riverine inputs from the Detroit and Maumee Rivers mixing together and creating gradients in chemical and physical conditions. This study was driven by two questions: (1) How does secondary production and food quality for consumers vary across this large mixing zone? and (2) Are there correlations between cyanobacterial abundance and secondary production or food quality for consumers? Measuring spatial and temporal variation in secondary production and food quality is difficult for a variety of logistical reasons, so here a common consumer approach was used. In a common consumer approach, individuals of a single species are raised under similar conditions until placed in the field across environmental gradients of interest. After some period of exposure, the response of that common consumer is measured to provide an index of spatial variation in conditions. Here, a freshwater mussel (Lampsilis siliquoidea) was deployed at 32 locations that spanned habitat types and a gradient in cyanobacterial abundance in the western basin of Lake Erie to measure spatial variation in growth (an index of secondary production) and fatty acid (FA) content (an index of food quality). We found secondary production was highest within the Maumee river mouth and lowest in the open waters of the lake. Mussel tissues in the Maumee river mouth also included more eicosapentaenoic and docosapentaenoic fatty acids (EPA and DPA, respectively), but fewer bacterial FAs, suggesting more algae at the base of the food web in the Maumee river mouth compared to open lake sites. The satellite-derived estimate of cyanobacterial abundance was not correlated to secondary production, but was positively related to EPA and DPA content in the mussels, suggesting more of these important FAs in locations with more cyanobacteria. These results suggest that growth of secondary consumers and the availability of important fatty acids in the western basin are centered on the Maumee river mouth.

show abstract

“…Published model validation also includes other inland freshwater bodies (Lunetta et al. ) and simulation tests (Wynne et al. ).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Measuring spatial variation in secondary production and food quality using a common consumer approach in Lake Erie

Larson

Richardson

Evans

et al. 2016

Ecological Applications

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…The maximum Chl-a concentrations in previous studies were lower (<700 g L −1 maximum for Gómez et al, 2011) than in this study (10,972 g L −1 ). Maximum Chl-a concentrations have been reported corresponding to VCI level 2 (70.5 g L −1 for Binding et al, 2010), level 3 (189.4 g L −1 for Lunetta et al, 2015), level 4 (290.8 g L −1 for Media-Cobo et al, 2014), and level 5 (362.5 and <700 g L −1 for Matthews et al, 2012;and Gómez et al, 2011, respectively).…”

Section: Advantages Of the Fai In Monitoring High Levels Of Cyanobactmentioning

confidence: 95%

Monitoring levels of cyanobacterial blooms using the visual cyanobacteria index (VCI) and floating algae index (FAI)

Oyama

Fukushima

Matsushita

et al. 2015

International Journal of Applied Earth Observation and Geoinfor

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

“…Technological advances have led to improvements for direct and indirect (surrogate) measures of cyanotoxins. Four areas showing promise for the future include real-time surrogate measures, biosensors, molecular techniques, and remote sensing (Singh et al, 2012;Moreira et al, 2014;Lunetta et al, 2015). While these techniques have been available for some time, validation at a national scale is still needed because matrix interferences vary from lake to lake just as limiting environmental factors that control phytoplankton succession and toxin production.…”

Section: Options For Rapid Cyanotoxin Assessment In the Futurementioning

confidence: 99%

Cyanotoxins in inland lakes of the United States: Occurrence and potential recreational health risks in the EPA National Lakes Assessment 2007

et al. 2016

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Evaluation of cyanobacteria cell count detection derived from MERIS imagery across the eastern USA

Cited by 136 publications

References 37 publications

Measuring spatial variation in secondary production and food quality using a common consumer approach in Lake Erie

Measuring spatial variation in secondary production and food quality using a common consumer approach in Lake Erie

Monitoring levels of cyanobacterial blooms using the visual cyanobacteria index (VCI) and floating algae index (FAI)

Cyanotoxins in inland lakes of the United States: Occurrence and potential recreational health risks in the EPA National Lakes Assessment 2007

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About