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The Cyanobacteria Monitoring Collaborative: Multi-Tiered Approach to Citizen Science Based Cyanobacteria Monitoring
Citation:
Snook, H., B. Kreakie, Bryan Milstead, AND Jeff Hollister. The Cyanobacteria Monitoring Collaborative: Multi-Tiered Approach to Citizen Science Based Cyanobacteria Monitoring. Office of Research and Development (ORD) Poster Session, Durham, NC, September 24, 2018.
Impact/Purpose:
This poster highlights a collaboration between USEPA Region 1, USEPA ORD, and a large number of external partners on the development of the Cyanobacteria Monitoring Collaborative. The primary purpose of this poster is to spread awareness about the Cyanobacteria Monitoring Collaborative and to tout three coordinated citizen science projects. The poster gives readers a brief introduction to cyanobacteria and describes each of the projects. The impact of this work is that we have developed an approach to help coordinate monitoring of cyanobacteria across a large number of diverse stakeholder organizations and this has 1) led to an increase in cooperation and coordination between USEPA and many states across the US and 2) started to shed light on the spatial and temporal distribution of Harmful Algal Blooms within the United States.
Description:
Cyanobacteria (sometimes referred to as blue-green algae) are tiny organisms that can be found in diverse environments ranging from deserts to oceans. Under the right conditions cyanobacteria can spread quickly, forming dense “blooms” on a waterbody’s surface. These blooms are a big problem because many cyanobacteria species produce toxins that are dangerous to humans and wildlife. Also, comprehensive efforts to understand the extent of these blooms in lakes and ponds are rare. The Cyanobacteria Monitoring Collaborative (CMC) began in 2013 as a USEPA Region 1 Workgroup. Through the leadership of USEPA Region 1, USEPA ORD, New England states, and several universities the workgroup evolved into the CMC which now has reached nearly 300 interested individuals, from 100+ organizations. Thousands of observations have been recorded from sites across the United States (and the world). The primary activities of the CMC are: bloomWatch, cyanoScope, and Cyano Monitoring. In addition, USEPA Region 1 leads our active training program. For more information about the CMC, the individual projects, and how to get involved, visit the CMC website at https://cyanos.org.