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Chemical, Biological and Instrumental methods for detecting harmful algae blooms and their natural toxins
Citation:
Perkins, D., A. Foss, J. Lazorchak, B. Brooks, M. Howard, AND Hubert Allen. Chemical, Biological and Instrumental methods for detecting harmful algae blooms and their natural toxins. IN: SETAC Globe, SETAC Press, Pensacola, FL, (20):4, (2019).
Impact/Purpose:
This a session summary of speakers and posters that presented their research on HABs at the SETAC meeting in Sacramento November 2018.
Description:
Harmful algal blooms (HABs) in freshwater and marine systems are defined as an overgrowth of photosynthetic organisms (eukaryote and prokaryote) which have the potential to cause negative health, ecological or economic impacts. These negative impacts are caused by mechanisms that include, but are not limited to, toxin production, decreases in light attenuation and dissolved oxygen, diurnal swings in pH, offensive tastes and odors, and impaired visual aesthetics. The purpose of this session was to highlight and exchange information on chemical, biological, instrumental and sensing methods for the detection of HAB related organisms and their associated toxins. Such approaches discussed included unique sample collection techniques (e.g. SPATT), remote sensing of HABs, modeling to anticipate toxin occurrence, and HPLC-MS techniques for toxin analysis. The session had over 75 attendees and contained eight platform and five poster presentations. The session included research from the United States Geological Survey (USGS), the United States Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA), the Southern California Coastal Water Research Project, as well as researchers from Baylor University and University of California Davis. Presentation Highlights: • Meredith Howard (Southern California Coastal Water Research Project) presented water sampling strategies used to monitor HABs in California, including combining Solid Phase Adsorption Toxin Tracking (SPATT) along with grab and benthic mat sample collection. • Jennifer Graham (USGS) discussed the use of real-time water-quality data to estimate cyanotoxin occurrence. Linear and logistic regression models to estimate probability of microcystin occurrence above relevant thresholds were developed and evaluated for lake, reservoir, and river sites in Kansas and Ohio; some of these models performed relatively well over time and others performed relatively poorly. Four case studies were presented discussing the strengths and limitations of using these near-real-time notification tools. • Guy Foster (USGS) addressed how extreme spatiotemporal variability in cyanobacteria and microcystin within waterbodies pose challenges to collecting representative samples. The USGS, in collaboration with the Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE), collected data from a combination of time-lapse cameras and fluorescence sensors in Milford Lake, Kansas. While continuous fluorescence sensors may be useful in informing public health decisions in lakes, site-specific models need to be developed, and best practices for using continuous water-quality monitors to inform management strategies need to be established. • Samuel Haddad (Baylor University) discussed a newly developed method to detect multiple cyanotoxins in water and fish using liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry. Two separation techniques, hydrophilic interaction liquid chromatography and reverse phase liquid chromatography, were used to analyze water and caged fish study samples collected at a hypereutrophic impoundment. • Joel Allen (US EPA) presented an overview and observations of cyanobacteria population and intracellular/extracellular cyanotoxin production and high frequency (HF) monitoring data from 2015 to 2017 on a lake that has been experiencing annual HAB blooms for the past 8 or so years. HF data coupled with cyanotoxin analyses demonstrate the utility of HF data for tracking the cyanoHAB status of the reservoir. It is also apparent that cyanotoxin concentrations may potentially be underestimated if cyanotoxin sampling is not coupled with bloom status. • Heath Mash (US EPA) presented findings from a study investigating the performance of passive samplers for detecting extracellular cyanotoxins in stream mesocosms, lakes and streams. Two types of passive samplers, Solid Phase Adsorption Toxin Trac
