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Return to the <a href="http://cedareden.com/phyto.html">Phytoplankton Image Library</a></center>Michael R. Martinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16114816233566987498noreply@blogger.comBlogger26125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22696839.post-60906571606825173152014-10-02T11:03:00.001-04:002014-10-02T11:03:48.680-04:00Green Snot taking over the world’s rivers<div class="moz-text-html" lang="x-western">
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<b><span lang="EN-GB" style="color: #333333; font-size: 16.0pt; letter-spacing: -.1pt;">A strange green organism has spread around the globe, clogging up the world's rivers</span></b>
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<a href="http://www.bbc.com/earth/story/20140922-green-snot-takes-over-worlds-rivers">http://www.bbc.com/earth/story/20140922-green-snot-takes-over-worlds-rivers</a></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="color: #333333;">Presented by Larry O'Hanlon</span></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-GB" style="color: #333333;">Has Didymo always been in the rivers of British Columbia?</span></i></b></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt;">It
began with a few small strange patches of slime, clinging to the rocks
of the Heber River in Canada. Within a year, the patches had become
thick, blooming
mats. Within a few years the mats had grown into a giant green snot.
And within a few decades this snot had spread around the world, clogging
up rivers as far away as South America, Europe and Australasia.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt;">This snot, which is still flourishing today, is caused by a microscopic alga, a diatom that goes by its scientific name
<i>Didymosphenia geminata</i>. It has become so notorious it has its own
moniker, Didymo. People have been blamed for the sudden, global
explosion of this tiny organism, unwittingly carrying the algae from
river to river on fishing gear, boats and kayaks. The
huge snots it forms have wreaked havoc in waterways, forcing
governments and environmental organisations to initiate huge and costly
clean-up operations.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt;">But
underlying the snots’ strange appearance is an even stranger story.
About Didymo itself, about what it is, and how it behaves.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt;">Scientists are now discovering that the sudden appearance of Didymo may not have been so sudden after all.</span></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-GB" style="color: #333333;">River users are told to help stop Didymo.</span></i></b></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt;"> Its
blooms aren’t really blooms – instead they are more of an
elixir-induced metamorphosis. And Didymo seems to ignore the usual rules
followed by invasive
species. It even appears likely that this little diatom may not even be
a significant problem itself; instead the green snot it forms may be a
symptom of greater changes underway in freshwater systems around the
world.</span></div>
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<b><span lang="EN-GB" style="color: #333333; font-size: 16.0pt;">Malignant morphs</span></b></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt;">The
diatom was first spotted in 1988, a few patches of alga within Heber
River, in Vancouver Island, British Columbia. By 1989, several
kilometres of river
were covered in thick mats of the stuff, a surprise since the rare alga
was not thought to grow this way. Today, Didymo coats the rocks of
streams and rivers around the globe, from Quebec in Canada, Colorado and
South Dakota in the US, Poland and Norway in
Europe, even reaching Iceland, Chile and New Zealand.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt;">Normally
diatoms or other algae bloom when water is rich in nutrients, feeding
an explosive increase in reproduction. This has a massive detrimental
impact
on freshwater systems. After diatoms increase in huge numbers, they
also die in huge numbers, creating a surge in decay that depletes oxygen
in the water. That suffocates freshwater animals such as insects,
crustaceans and fish. Algal blooms essentially create
an aquatic apocalypse.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt;">But
intriguingly, none of this applies to Didymo. When it creates huge
snots, it’s not actually reproducing, scientists have discovered.
Instead, it’s morphing,
from something benign to something malignant. Each single-celled
organism exudes long stringy stalks of mucous that entangle, creating
the mats and snots that coat rocks.</span></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-GB" style="color: #333333;">The alga clogging New Zealand waterways.</span></i></b></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt;">“We
usually think of massive cell division in a bloom,” says ecologist
Cathy Kilroy, of New Zealand's National Institute of Water and
Atmospheric Research
Ltd, in Christchurch. “That's not the case here.”</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt;">The
water conditions which cause this transformation are also unexpected.
“Most algal blooms are attributed to too much nutrients,” explains
diatom researcher
Sarah Spaulding, of the US Geological Survey in Colorado. “This is the
first time it's attributed to too little nutrient.”</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt;">Didymo,
it turns out, only turns malignant when waters are very low in
phosphorus, a nutrient often associated with pollution by detergents and
fertilisers.
It’s this paucity of phosphorous that causes the stringy stalks to
grow, not the alga trying to reproduce, says Kilroy, whose experiments
helped establish the connection.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt;">Related
to this discovery is an extreme irony. Governments and organisations
around the world have, for a very long time, tried to stop algal blooms
from
strangling rivers by reducing phosphorous pollution, believing the
algal feed off this nutrient boost. But in doing so, they might have
encouraged the green snot that is Didymo.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt;">“It goes against everything we’ve been thinking for 50 years,” says Spaulding.</span></div>
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<b><span lang="EN-GB" style="color: #333333; font-size: 16.0pt;">Ever-present?</span></b></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt;">Didymo
is also pulling a second surprise on scientists. For decades, it was
thought that people spread the diatom around the world, the alga
hitching a ride
on the tackle, nets and wading boots of fishermen, and boats and
boating equipment. To counter the threat, river users have been
encouraged to clean their gear between visits.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt;">But
Didymo may not have been spread across the globe after all. It may have
been there all along, believe Brad Taylor of Dartmouth College in
Hanover, New
Hampshire, US and Max Bothwell of Environment Canada's Pacific
Biological Station in Nanaimo, BC.</span></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-GB" style="color: #333333;">Warning signs in New Zealand</span></i></b></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt;"> The
two diatom researchers have just published a study in the journal
BioScience. It reveals fossil and historical evidence that Didymo has
long existed
on every continent except Africa, Antarctica and Australia. Fossilised
forms of Didymo, for example, can be found in at least 11 countries in
Europe, across North America and Asia, and in South America.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt;">“The idea that
<i>D. geminata</i> is a recently introduced species or a native species
expanding its range has been accepted and promoted,” say the scientists
in their study. But that idea is wrong, they argue. And it explains why
legislation banning certain types of wading
gear, thought to help spread algae, has had no impact on the spread of
Didymo’s green snot into new rivers. Because Didymo was already there.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt;">There
is one place that Didymo may have invaded; New Zealand. A decade ago,
small patches of snot started appearing within rivers on South Island.
The snots
were suspiciously just downstream of places popular with fishermen and
kayakers. It has since spread all over the island, green snots
blanketing some river beds.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt;">“The
issue is whether Didymo was here in New Zealand before 2004,” says
Kilroy. “Actually, we don't know. Was it here, undetected, or
introduced?” She suspects
the latter, having not yet found any historical evidence of its
presence in the country. The rise of Didymo in New Zealand also
coincided with an increase in tourism, and its appearance elsewhere.
“All of a sudden it went from being extremely rare to being
extremely common,” said Kilroy. The South Island's clean,
low-phosphorus streams and rivers were perfect, virgin territory for
Didymo to grow its stalks, and bloom into snots. “It's a no brainer.”</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt;">Since
2004, New Zealanders have waged a war on the little diatom. “People are
quite concerned about it here,” says Kilroy. Many believe that
government action
has successfully prevented the green snot reaching the North Island.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt;">Taylor
and Bothwell, however, suspect the story is simpler. The volcanic soils
of North Island are naturally rich in phosphorous, which leaches into
its
rivers. They think Didymo has reached North Island, but it can’t
survive in its phosphorous-rich rivers.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt;">One
way to answer the question of whether Didymo invaded New Zealand, or
has long resided there, is to take samples from below the country’s
lakes, searching
for fossilised remains of the alga. But the technique is costly.</span></div>
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<b><span lang="EN-GB" style="color: #333333; font-size: 16.0pt;">Catastrophic or not?</span></b></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt;">However,
to fishermen and boaters wrestling with Didymo’s green snots, its
origins are academic. They want to know what it's doing to the
waterways, whether
it's hurting fish or invertebrates such as the insects on which fish
depend.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt;">Even
here though, the diatom continues to surprise. Research has shown that
the alga boosts numbers of small insects, such as midges and gnats,
while reducing
numbers of larger insects, such as mayflies, stoneflies and
caddisflies. “That seems to be a universal change in these streams,”
says fisheries biologist Daniel James of the US Fish and Wildlife
Service in the Black Hills of South Dakota, where Didymo appeared
in 2002.</span></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-GB" style="color: #333333;">New Zealand’s South Island harbours the alga.</span></i></b></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt;"> James’s
research has focused on the diets of freshwater fish, and whether they
have less to eat due to the presence of green snots. But the reduction
in
larger insects hasn’t so far caused a problem, as the fish are just
eating more of the smaller insects.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt;">While
the fish of South Dakota seem unaffected by Didymo, which covers around
a third of the riverbeds studied by James, he cautions that may not be
so in
other places, such as in New Zealand. There the snots can blanket the
whole river.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt;">However,
on the whole, Didymo doesn’t yet seem to have caused the ecological
catastrophe that so many feared. “At first there was a huge concern
about how
Didymo was going to affect fish,” says James. “But it's more of an
annoyance.”</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt;">It
can cause some problems for irrigation systems, says Kilroy. But its
biggest impact seems to be aesthetic. “The main effect of Didymo is how
it changed
the appearance of rivers and streams,” she says. “It's not toxic. It
really doesn't do anything really awful.”</span></div>
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<b><span lang="EN-GB" style="color: #333333; font-size: 16.0pt;">The real invaders</span></b></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt;">So
what then, is the real meaning of the Didymo phenomenon worldwide? The
true significance of the green snot taking over the world’s rivers may
not be the
snot itself, but what it tells us about our own, human impact on
freshwater ecosystems.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt;">Bothwell,
Taylor and Kilroy have collaborated on new research recently published
in the journal Diatom Research. They propose a few mechanisms by which
humans
may have altered the world’s rivers, creating the opportunity for
Didymo.</span></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-GB" style="color: #333333;">Didymo covers rocks in British Columbia</span></i></b></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt;">First,
the burning of fossil fuels such as oil and coal has increased the
amount of nitrogen compounds on the atmosphere. That nitrogen causes
soil organisms
to better use phosphorous in the soil, meaning less phosphorous runs
into rivers and streams. That creates the more phosphorus-free water
beloved by Didymo.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt;">A
second mechanism, which has the same effect as the first, is the
increasing addition of nitrogen-rich fertilisers to soils by agriculture
and forest managers.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt;">A
third involves climate change, and the way it changes the timing of
growing seasons and melting of snow. This might somehow also reduce the
amount of phosphorous
entering freshwater ecosystems, the researchers say, again creating the
environment in which Didymo green snots can flourish.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt;">It
could be that different mechanisms are the cause of Didymo blooms in
different places around the world, or that they are working in synergy.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt;">But
whichever turn out to be at work, the research seems to suggest that we
have met the invaders, and they are not green snot-causing Didymo
diatoms. They
are us.</span></div>
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Michael R. Martinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16114816233566987498noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22696839.post-45617649585620884812014-05-16T05:47:00.000-04:002014-05-16T05:50:47.933-04:00Didymo, aka 'Rock snot,' spreading fast as climate warms<p><span style="line-height: 1.3em;">BY Yereth Rosen, </span><a href="http://www.adn.com" target="_self" title="">Anchorage Daily News</a></p><p>Rock snot, a slimy-looking algae that vexes salmon and salmon fishermen, is not an alien invader but a homegrown threat gaining strength in changing water conditions, according to a new study by scientists from Dartmouth and Environment Canada.</p><p>Officially known as Didymosphenia geminata, which scientists shorten to didymo, it has existed in portions of Alaska for some eight centuries, said the study published online last week in the journal BioScience.</p><p>Only recently, though, has the nuisance algae been noticed, even in sites considered pristine, thanks to aggressive growth that spreads rock snot stalks in lakes, rivers and streams.</p><p>"It's in Patagonia. It's in Tierra del Fuego. It's in Alaska," said study co-author Brad Taylor of Dartmouth College. It is also in British Columbia, New York and various northeastern U.S. states. Sweden, Poland and Colorado see it, too.</p><p>Alaska officials have waged a crusade against rock snot. Alaska is among several states that ban felt soles in fishermen's waders; the state Department of Fish and Game cites felt's ability to absorb and transport a plethora of unwanted organisms to new places. The Alaska House this year passed a bill that allows state officials to mount a rapid response to eradicate invasive aquatic species and establishes a fund to pay for it; the bill died, however, without Senate action.</p><h3>Explosion linked to phosphorus</h3><p>But when it comes to combating rock snot in Alaska, anti-invader strategies may do little, according to Taylor's study. Core samples at Naknek Lake show that rock snot has been there since the year 1200, the study notes. As long as the didymo did not bloom, Taylor said, it went mostly unnoticed.</p><blockquote><p><span style="line-height: 1.3em;">"Unless you scrubbed a rock and looked in a microscope, you would never know it's there," he said. "Absence of evidence was used as evidence of absence."</span></p></blockquote><a name='more'></a><p><span style="line-height: 1.3em;"> </span>In recent times, blooms have been spotted by alarmed fishermen, some of whom were blamed for the algae's presence, Taylor said. "They would see it and they would report it and they were, sort of, guilty by association," he said.</p><p>The explosion in didymo blooms, Taylor and research partner Max Bothwell of Environment Canada found, can be traced to a lack of phosphorus in the water. The plant sprouts stalks that stretch out to reach whatever phosphorus is in the water, and those stalks can wind up matting the floors of rivers and lakes, blocking access to food for fish and otherwise altering habitat.</p><p>Phosphorus can be a water pollutant, deposited by fertilizer, sewage and other sources. But in the right quantities, phosphorus is good for streams and lakes, Taylor said,</p><blockquote><p>"Too much of it is a bad thing. It turns out that not enough of it might also be a bad thing," he said.</p></blockquote><p>In the past, the timing and flow of the spring snowmelt carried phosphorous into water bodies in a gradual, sustained fashion. That timing has been disrupted, the new study said, by increasingly early springs prompted by a changing climate.</p><p>Earlier snowmelt and other changes in precipitation are sending water into streams and lakes in a pulse-like pattern, flushing the phosphorus that exists in the soil at once instead of gradually, the study said. Earlier soil thaw and plant growth also means that more of the phosphorus is being absorbed by plants growing on the land and by microbes in the unfrozen soil, providing less opportunity for the chemical to flow into the water bodies, the study said. Earlier snowmelt and, in some places, reduced snow pack also means that cloud cover in late spring and early summer is reduced, allowing in more of the solar radiation linked to photosynthesis. That radiation combines with lower phosphorus levels in the water to create ideal conditions for didymo blooms, the study said.</p><h3>'Not a happy ending'</h3><p>Another study, published in February in the Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences, makes similar conclusions about didymo in Quebec. Blooms were first reported in there in 2006 but have exploded since then. That study, led by scientists at Queens University, used core samples to determine that didymo has existed in Quebec since 1970 -- or even earlier. The recent blooms are likely the result of environmental change, not transplant of invasive organisms, the study said.</p><blockquote><p>"The exceptional rise in didymo abundance . . . suggests that there has been an ecologically important change in the river environment towards conditions that favor didymo and the prevalence of bloom states," the study said.</p></blockquote><p>Those findings suggest it will be difficult to control rock snot. "Unfortunately, there's not a happy ending here," Taylor said.</p><p>Still, the felt-sole ban remains a worthy policy even if it does not prevent rock-snot invasions, he said. For one thing, "You don't need felt if you're in a stream with didymo because the didymo is like walking on Astroturf," he said.</p><p>More importantly, it prevents the spread of other invaders, including a type of worm that thrives in didymo-stalk mats and infects salmon and trout with whirling disease.</p><p>Another menacing aquatic invader, first reported in Alaska in 2010, is an unpleasant-looking sea squirt that can cover sections of seafloor and bears the scientific name Didemunm vexillum. Its common name? Rock vomit.</p><p>_________________________</p><p>Reach Yereth Rosen at <a href="mailto:yereth@alaskadispatch.com" target="_self" title="">yereth@alaskadispatch.com</a></p><p> </p><div style="text-align: right; font-size: small; clear: both;" id="blogsy_footer"><a href="http://blogsyapp.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://blogsyapp.com/images/blogsy_footer_icon.png" alt="Posted with Blogsy" style="vertical-align: middle; margin-right: 5px;" width="20" height="20" />Posted with Blogsy</a></div>Michael R. Martinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16114816233566987498noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22696839.post-55309844102617593822014-05-07T09:24:00.001-04:002014-05-07T09:24:00.947-04:00Spotted salamander is solar-powered - vertebrate/algae symbiote <h3 class="post-title entry-title" itemprop="name">
Spotted salamander is solar-powered - vertebrate/algae symbiote
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<a href="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-Yef-ICax6lA/U2UK2ZIO8rI/AAAAAAAAEMg/wiINHSDJXOE/s300/Photo%25252020140503112717.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" target="_blank"><img alt="" class="alignright" height="191" id="blogsy-1399130867008.4956" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-Yef-ICax6lA/U2UK2ZIO8rI/AAAAAAAAEMg/wiINHSDJXOE/s250/Photo%25252020140503112717.jpg" width="250" /></a></div>
The spotted salamander (Ambystoma maculatum) is found throughout the
eastern USA and parts of southern Canada. While a number of animals,
including corals, sponges, sea slugs and one species of hornet have
algae living in them that use sunlight to make sugar, no backboned
animal has been found that can harness the sun – until now. It has long
been suspected, and now there is hard evidence: the spotted salamander
is solar-powered.<br />
<br />
Plants make food using photosynthesis, absorbing light to power a
chemical reaction that converts carbon dioxide and water into glucose
and releases oxygen. Corals profit from this reaction by housing
photosynthetic algae inside their shells.<br />
Spotted salamanders, too, are in a long-term relationship with
photosynthetic algae. In 1888, biologist Henry Orr reported that their
eggs often contain single-celled green algae called Oophila
amblystomatis. The salamanders lay the eggs in pools of water, and the
algae colonise them within hours.<br />
<br />
By the 1940s, biologists strongly suspected it was a symbiotic
relationship, beneficial to both the salamander embryos and the algae.
The embryos release waste material, which the algae feed on. In turn the
algae photosynthesise and release oxygen, which the embryos take in.
Embryos that have more algae are more likely to survive and develop
faster than embryos with few or none.<br />
Then in 2011 the story gained an additional twist. A close examination
of the eggs revealed that some of the algae were living within the
embryos themselves, and in some cases were actually inside embryonic
cells. That suggested the embryos weren't just taking oxygen from the
algae: they might be taking glucose too. In other words, the algae were
acting as internal power stations, generating fuel for the salamanders.<br />
<br />
To find out if that was happening, Erin Graham of Temple University in
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and colleagues incubated salamander eggs in
water containing radioactive carbon-14. Algae take up the isotope in the
form of carbon dioxide, producing radioactive glucose. <span style="line-height: 1.3em;">Graham
found that the embryos became mildly radioactive – unless kept in the
dark. That showed that the embryos could only take in the carbon-14 via
photosynthesis in the algae.</span><br />
<span style="line-height: 1.3em;">The algae do not seem to be essential to the embryos, but they are very helpful: embryos deprived of algae struggle.</span><br />
<br />
<blockquote>
<span style="line-height: 1.3em;">"Their survival rate is much lower and their growth is slowed," says Graham.</span><br />
<span style="line-height: 1.3em;">______________________________</span></blockquote>
Source: <a href="http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn23090-zoologger-the-first-solarpowered-vertebrate.html#.U2UDkCa9KK0" target="_self" title="">NewScientist</a><br />
<a href="http://lakestewardship.org/">LakeStewardship Blog</a><br />
<br />
Michael R. Martinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16114816233566987498noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22696839.post-85292030628734663572013-06-18T13:37:00.003-04:002013-06-18T13:37:24.869-04:00EPA Sponsoring Webcast Series to Raise Awareness about Harmful Algal Blooms and Nutrient PollutionOn June 25, 2013, EPA's Watershed Academy will sponsor a free webcast on harmful algal blooms (HABs) and their Impacts in freshwater and marine ecosystems,the first in a series of webinars about this worsening environmental problem and public health threat. Jennifer Graham with the United States Geological Survey and Quay Dortch with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration will start the series with an introduction to HABs, their causes, and their impacts, and EPA HAB expert Mario Sengco will moderate. This webcast series is a part of a broader outreach effort this summer that will aim to focus public attention on HABs, which can sicken people and pets, devastate aquatic ecosystems, and harm the economy. To register, visit <a href="http://www.epa.gov/watershedwebcasts">www.epa.gov/watershedwebcasts</a><br />
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Source: Water Headlines Michael R. Martinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16114816233566987498noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22696839.post-34616578892937228452013-03-10T14:59:00.001-04:002013-03-10T15:02:59.101-04:00World's First Algae-Powered Building Opens This Month in GermanySplitterwerk Architects have designed an algae powered building, dubbed BIQ, which will be the very first of its kind. Covered with a bio-adaptive façade of microalgae, the distinctive building has been designed for the International Building Exhibition in Hamburg and is slated to open this month.<br />
<br />
To create the algae façade, the building is covered in bio-reactive louvers that enclose the algae. These louvers allow the algae to survive and grow faster than they would otherwise while also providing shade for the interior of the building. Additionally, the bio-reactors trap the heat energy created by the algae, which can then be harvested and used to power the building. Once the building is completed, it will be evaluated by scientists and engineers to allow for future research and adaptation for future building projects.<br />
<br />
Read more: <a href="http://inhabitat.com/splitterwerk-architects-design-worlds-first-algae-powered-building-for-germany/" target="_blank">World's First Algae-Powered Building by Splitterwerk Architects Opens This Month in Germany</a> | Inhabitat - Sustainable Design Innovation, Eco Architecture, Green Building <br />
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______________________________________<br />
Source: Kristine Lofgren, Inhabitat<br />
<br />Michael R. Martinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16114816233566987498noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22696839.post-3043593537450169412013-01-16T15:20:00.003-05:002013-01-16T15:20:34.187-05:00European Algae Biomass 2013<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Accelerating the Commercialization of Algal Biomass Through Applied R&D and Business Strategy</blockquote>
<br />
<b>European Algae Biomass conference to be held April 24-25 in Vienna, Austria</b><br />
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During the afternoon of Tuesday 23rd April 2013 up to 30 conference attendees will receive a unique opportunity to visit Ecoduna's hanging
gardens photobioreactor facility in Bruck an der Leitha, just a short drive
from Vienna. There is no extra charge to attend the site visit, but spaces are limited and allocated on a first come first served basis. Please register your attendance for the site visit when booking for the conference.
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<br />
Key Topics Include:<br />
<ul>
<li>Commercial market analysis & forecast</li>
<li> Strain selection & genetic engineering</li>
<li> The future for European algae biomass: view from the bioplastic, pharmaceuticals and human nutrition markets</li>
<li>Algal culture systems: latest developments from laboratory & field</li>
<li> Harvesting, dewatering, drying & oil extraction: maximizing efficiency & reducing cost</li>
<li>Commercial algae production: case study examples</li>
<li> Biofuel production & biorefining</li>
<li>Algae-based CO2 capture</li>
<li> Algae as an investment opportunity: An investor’s viewpoint
• The path from lab to commercialization </li>
</ul>
<a href="http://server1.streamsend.com/streamsend/clicktracker.php?cd=3896&ld=1725&md=2179&ud=5b4f3a4d9dacc9c0e9820e17de077b80&url=http://v11.vuturevx.com/exchange-sites/Whitmore%20Group/59/events-pdfs-eu/eal3-mktg-agenda.pdf">Download Full Agenda</a><br />
<a href="http://server1.streamsend.com/streamsend/clicktracker.php?cd=3896&ld=1725&md=2179&ud=5b4f3a4d9dacc9c0e9820e17de077b80&url=http://www.wplgroup.com/aci/conferences/eu-eal3.asp">Conference Web Page</a><br />
<br />
For more information, contact Dimitri Pavlyk<br />
+44 (0) 207 981 2503<br />
<a href="mailto:dpavlyk@acieu.co.uk">dpavlyk@acieu.co.uk</a>Michael R. Martinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16114816233566987498noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22696839.post-65211706882860541212012-03-05T16:01:00.001-05:002012-03-05T16:01:43.889-05:00South Atlantic Phytoplankton Bloom<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUFIleFJww-zMQKpFDF8kz2tHq9ACq1kKnodDBORqzcETFhqEIDYR4c-9w2CfcjpP2CsYvtS8SEcqEOT4DoIKY3z5kdjzqHflpHUGD6f8SwHy403q6TxjuQVH7_llJ47DfLHt7/s1600/envisat_bloommer_fr_20111202_51029_h1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUFIleFJww-zMQKpFDF8kz2tHq9ACq1kKnodDBORqzcETFhqEIDYR4c-9w2CfcjpP2CsYvtS8SEcqEOT4DoIKY3z5kdjzqHflpHUGD6f8SwHy403q6TxjuQVH7_llJ47DfLHt7/s320/envisat_bloommer_fr_20111202_51029_h1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
In this Envisat image, acquired on Dec. 2, 2011, a phytoplankton bloom swirls a figure-of-8 in the South Atlantic Ocean about 600 km east of the Falkland Islands. Different types and quantities of phytoplankton exhibit different colors, such as the blues and greens in this image.
Earth-observing satellites like Envisat can monitor these algal blooms. Once a bloom begins, an ocean color sensor can make an initial identification of its chlorophyll pigment, and therefore its species and toxicity.<br />
<br />
http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2012/03/envisat-anniversary/?pid=3266<br />
<br />
Source: Wired ScienceMichael R. Martinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16114816233566987498noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22696839.post-73655485912595227402011-11-06T01:15:00.000-04:002011-11-06T01:15:59.979-05:00View from space: Toxic algae bloom in Lake ErieLandsat-5 satellite images acquired in early October, 2011 revealed the worst algae bloom North America’s Lake Erie has experienced in decades. The bloom is primarily microcystis aeruginosa, an algae that is toxic to mammals, according to the Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory. The reasons for this year’s giant bloom are complex, say scientists, but might be related to a rainy spring and invasive mussels.<br /><br />See pictures and more of the story at:<br /><br /><a target="_blank" href="http://earthsky.org/water/view-from-space-toxic-algae-bloom-in-lake-erie">http://earthsky.org/water/view-from-space-toxic-algae-bloom-in-lake-erie</a><br />____________________<br />Source: EarthSky.org Water Blog<br />Michael R. Martinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16114816233566987498noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22696839.post-85641889574696031712011-06-23T15:36:00.000-04:002011-06-23T15:36:58.495-04:00Algal Turf ScrubbersAn article published in the June issue of BioScience describes the early scale-up stage of a new biotechnology with environmental benefits and possible commercial potential. Algal turf scrubbers are field-sized, water-treatment systems that can extract excess nutrients from streams, canals, and lakes polluted by agricultural, domestic, and some industrial runoff. They use sunlight as their principal source of energy and simultaneously restore oxygen levels. The devices work by pulsing contaminated water across algae that are allowed to grow on screens. Algal turf scrubbers produce waste suitable for use as a nitrogen- and phosphorus-rich fertilizer. Some algal turf scrubbers can even operate in open water, thus minimizing loss of agricultural land to the systems.<br />
<br />
The BioScience article, by Walter H. Adey of the Smithsonian Institution, Patrick C. Kangas of the University of Maryland, and Walter Mulbry of the US Department of Agriculture, notes that the need to clean wastewater and various types of runoff contaminated with nitrogen and phosphorus is immediate in many places where natural waters are polluted.<br />
<br />
The article stresses that algal turf scrubbing is not likely to ever be profitable just as a way of making a fuel crop. Algal turf scrubbing could become common if the economic value of nutrient removal can be applied to the cost of building and running the units. That might depend on public policy that imposes a predictable cost on pollution of natural waters.<br />
__________________<br />
Source: NALMS Notes - June 2011<br />
<a href="http://www.nalms./org">http://www.nalms./org</a>Michael R. Martinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16114816233566987498noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22696839.post-74228333724066281052011-03-26T01:04:00.001-04:002011-03-26T01:04:12.360-04:00Newly Discovered Group of Algae Live in Both Fresh Water and OceanScienceDaily (Jan. 21, 2011) — A team of biologists has discovered an entirely new group of algae living in a wide variety of marine and freshwater environments. This group of algae, which the researchers dubbed "rappemonads," have DNA that is distinctly different from that of other known algae. In fact, humans and mushrooms are more closely related to each other than rappemonads are to some other common algae (such as green algae). Based on their DNA analysis, the researchers believe that they have discovered not just a new species or genus, but a potentially large and novel group of microorganisms.<br /><br />Read the rest at http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/01/110120151633.htm<br /><br />____________________<br />Posted using BlogPress app on my iPhone<br />Michael R. Martinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16114816233566987498noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22696839.post-55449255919281940112010-07-29T15:30:00.001-04:002010-07-29T15:30:21.235-04:00Most Abundant Food Source DisappearingIn oceans around the world, there has been a surprisingly large and extensive decline in phytoplankton -- the tiny algae that keep marine food webs afloat.<p>The drifting green flecks have been dying off for at least a century, with a staggering 40 percent decline since 1950, according to a new study.<p>Phytoplankton make up half of all plant matter around the globe, said marine ecologist Daniel Boyce, whose study appears this week in the journal <p>Nature. Its disappearance threatens the stability of climate, the well-being of fisheries and the overall health of the oceans.<p>"It's hard to really imagine phytoplankton could be so important because most people don't see them in their daily lives. They're microscopic and they live out at sea," said Boyce, of Dalhousie University in Halifax, Canada. "But everything that happens to them affects the entire marine food chain, including us."<p>Some recent satellite images have shown the ocean turning from green to blue as a result of phytoplankton declines, but those data stretch back only 13 years. Other studies have offered mixed results.<p>To get a more accurate picture and to look further into the past, Boyce and colleagues collected a half-million measurements of ocean clarity from a public data set that dated back to 1899.<p>Over the last century-plus, analyses showed, phytoplankton levels have dropped by one percent each year in eight out of 10 large ocean regions. The greatest decline occurred in areas around the poles, near the equator and in the open oceans. The rate of disappearance picked up after 1950, totaling a 40 percent drop-off since then.<p>"It's really big," said David Siegel, a marine scientist at the University of California, Santa Barbara. "I'm a little leery about how big that number is."<p>The scientists can't yet say what's causing the mass die-off of phytoplankton, but temperature data offer a clue. The declines were worst in places where the surface of the sea has warmed the most. Warmer ocean water limits the amount of nutrients that can get from the depths to the surface. Phytoplankton need those nutrients to live.<p>With less phytoplankton around, fish have less to eat. As the decline works its way up the food chain, fishermen will have less to catch and fish-eaters less to eat. Phytoplankton even affect climate by taking up carbon dioxide and absorbing heat.<p>"Everyone looks at blue oceans and goes: 'Isn't that beautiful?'" Siegel said. "But a blue ocean is full of nothing. You really want something, and we're only making more of the blue ocean."<p>Source: Discovery News<br><a href="http://news.discovery.com/earth/phytoplankton-oceans-food-web.htmlOcean's">http://news.discovery.com/earth/phytoplankton-oceans-food-web.htmlOcean's</a>Michael R. Martinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16114816233566987498noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22696839.post-85950143341904826572008-08-27T15:39:00.002-04:002008-08-27T15:45:59.265-04:00Harmful algal blooms, or HABsHarmful algal blooms, or HABs, in the new limno-lingo, represent a serious issue. When I was in lake school many years ago, we knew that certain algae could be hazardous. But these were marine algae that caused red tides or were rare events in freshwater, and then usually in cow ponds. Now HABs are front and center at many lakes.<br /><br />The EPA report, <span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">Scientific Assessment of Freshwater Harmful Algal Blooms</span> (<a href="http://www.epa.gov/nheerl/clean_water/hab/FreshwaterReport_final_2008.pdf">available from EPA as a PDF</a>) is the latest compendium of HAB science and is the techno-tell-all of what we know and what we no not know about HABs. We know for example that:<br /><blockquote>“Freshwater HAB toxins can have a broad range of negative impacts on humans, animals, and aquatic ecosystems. Many cyanobacteria can produce neurotoxic, hepatotoxic, dermatotoxic, or other bioactive compounds, and blooms of toxigenic cyanobacteria pose a particular threat if they occur in drinking water sources.”</blockquote>A lot of new words and jargon that say in essence that these blooms can’t be good.<br /><br />Seriously, as lake managers, we cannot ignore HABs. HABs pose threats beyond what we have traditionally dealt with as lake managers. HABs threaten water supplies, human health, and fish and wildlife.<br /><br />What we don’t know or at least don’t know well includes risk assessment, analytical methods, toxicity pathways, or the appropriate response framework. The report provides an assessment and roadmap to better attend to these needs.<br /><br />Of course, if we confront lakes experiencing HABs, we cannot wait for the answers to all the unknowns. We can fall back on our tried-and-true approaches to lake management - lake management basics – which ought to be relied upon to minimize and manage the impacts of HABs.<br /><br />This means priority ought to be given to nutrient management. Specifically,<br /><ul><li> Top priority for watershed protection for those lakes not yet affected by HABs</li><li>For lakes already experiencing HABs, watershed rehabilitation may be too slow, so in addition, we should initiate in-lake nutrient reduction methods.</li><li>In cases where nutrient reduction may not be timely or sufficient, other in-lake techniques should be used.<br /></li></ul><iframe src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=lakesteward-20&o=1&p=8&l=as1&asins=1880686155&fc1=000000&IS2=1&lt1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr" style="width: 120px; height: 240px;" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" scrolling="no" align="left" frameborder="0"></iframe>These strategies and techniques are explained fully in the textbook, <span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">Restoration and Management of Lakes and Reservoirs</span> or the manual, <a style="font-weight: bold;" href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1880686155?ie=UTF8&tag=lakesteward-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=1880686155">Managing Lakes and Reservoirs</a><img src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=lakesteward-20&l=as2&o=1&a=1880686155" alt="" style="border: medium none ! important; margin: 0px ! important;" width="1" border="0" height="1" /> – both available in the NALMS Bookstore (currently off-line). You may also purchase Managing Lakes and Reservoirs through Amazon.com using the <a href="http://astore.amazon.com/lakesteward-20">Lake Stewardship Store</a>.<br /><br />Article by Dick Osgood, President of the North American Lake Management Society (NALMS), used by permission. <a href="http://www.nalms.org/Publications/NALMSNotes/notes08-8.html">Read the latest NALMS' newsletter online</a>.Michael R. Martinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16114816233566987498noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22696839.post-32294014327090365512008-07-18T15:05:00.008-04:002008-12-09T16:17:08.922-05:00High Density Vertical Bioreactor for growing algae (with video)High Density Vertical Bioreactor (with Video) - Valcent Products, Inc.<br /><blockquote>The Holy Grail in the renewable energy sector has been to create a clean, green process which uses only light, water and air to create fuel. Valcent's HDVB algae-to-biofuel technology mass produces algae, vegetable oil which is suit<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsd0_Mh5v4AYrDD4CRmX7zCCuHY-nJgG32s_wvA4YGYBJTBUSiRf86kdF5p6HDDyTiLSnV361SywEMR4VxyOSvmQ-XiNkS2tNT-vUBy00Ji1IqX4-Fx3bVW6svDRv8Na7swyL5/s1600-h/vertigro.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsd0_Mh5v4AYrDD4CRmX7zCCuHY-nJgG32s_wvA4YGYBJTBUSiRf86kdF5p6HDDyTiLSnV361SywEMR4VxyOSvmQ-XiNkS2tNT-vUBy00Ji1IqX4-Fx3bVW6svDRv8Na7swyL5/s320/vertigro.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5224433054031082482" border="0" /></a>able for refining into a cost-effective, non-polluting biodiesel. The algae derived fuel will be an energy efficient replacement for fossil fuels and can be used in any diesel powered vehicle or machinery. In addition, 90% by weight of the algae is captured carbon dioxide, which is 'sequestered' by this process and so contributes significantly to the reduction of greenhouse gases. Valcent has commissioned the world's first commercial-scale bioreactor pilot project at its test facility in El Paso, Texas.</blockquote>Click on the title for the complete story and link to a video on the process.Michael R. Martinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16114816233566987498noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22696839.post-58216138998173872342008-01-29T07:44:00.000-05:002008-01-29T09:28:24.304-05:00Algae: Another way to grow edible oils<a href="http://www.news.com/Algae-Another-way-to-grow-edible-oils/2100-11395_3-6227572.html?tag=item"></a>Michael Kanellos, for News.com<br />Published: January 25, 2008<br /><blockquote><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://i.i.com.com/cnwk.1d/i/ne/p/2008/125algaegrowing200x179.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 200px;" src="http://i.i.com.com/cnwk.1d/i/ne/p/2008/125algaegrowing200x179.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>In the future, french fries might be infused with all the brimming, healthy flavor of oil produced by algae.<br /><br />Biotechnology company Solazyme, which is developing techniques for converting vats of algae into car and plane fuel, will also exploit its manufacturing processes to make oils for other industries, including the food industry.<br /><br />The company is already working on edible oils, Harrison Dillon, Solazyme's president, told CNET News.com. Ideally, these oils could provide greater health benefits, cost less, and be more environmentally friendly to grow than current cooking oils.<br /><br />"We can provide tailor-made oils," Dillon said.<br /><br />The ability to shift into new markets largely revolves around the nature of algae itself and the processes employed by the company. First, the creatures: algae are seriously greasy. The North Sea oil field and other large deposits are the fossilized remnants of algal blooms from hundreds of millions of years ago. They weren't formed by dinosaurs.<br /><br />"These organisms have the most efficient pathways on the planet for oil production," added Jonathan Wolfson, Solazyme's CEO. "Algae are the original oil producers."<br /><br /><p> Additionally, more complex plants evolved from algae. As a result, the basic biochemistry for getting algae to produce oil remains similar to what's seen in rapeseed or soy plants. Through selective breeding and other techniques, strains of algae can be induced to generate oils with very specific properties (such as a certain fatty acid content, smoke point, or viscosity). </p><p> <b>Algae on a sugar binge</b><br />Meanwhile, Solazyme has come up with a fermentation process that the company claims allows it to produce large amounts of biomass rapidly. The company inserts algae (typically one species) into a vat, dumps in a bunch of sugar, and then controls the pressure and other environmental factors inside the vat to induce the algae to metabolize the sugar into body oil. </p> Competitors such as GreenFuel Technologies or LiveFuels grow algae through photosynthesis. Solazyme claims that fermentation is much more efficient.<br /></blockquote><br />Click on the Title to view the complete CNET article.Michael R. Martinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16114816233566987498noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22696839.post-15419752293679254152007-11-07T15:21:00.000-05:002007-11-07T15:21:15.206-05:00Invasive Algae Found in Additional Fishing Waters - NYS Dept. of Environmental Conservation<a href="http://www.dec.ny.gov/environmentdec/39055.html">Invasive Algae Found in Additional Fishing Waters - NYS Dept. of Environmental Conservation</a>:<br /><br /><blockquote>"Invasive Algae Found in Additional Fishing Waters The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) announced the presence of the invasive algae didymo (Didymosphenia geminata) in two additional fishing water bodies in New York State. Samples taken by DEC have confirmed that didymo is present in the east branch of the Delaware River. In addition, may be present on the west branch of the Delaware River as well. These are the latest recorded incidents of this aquatic nuisance species-also called 'rock snot'-in New York State. Early this summer, didymo's presence was confirmed in a section of the Batten Kill in Washington County."</blockquote>Click the Title for the complete articleMichael R. Martinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16114816233566987498noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22696839.post-49156066537452467992007-09-10T20:50:00.000-04:002007-10-17T10:24:22.814-04:00Didymo Found in Lower Section of Batten Kill in Washington County NY<blockquote>The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) has confirmed that didymo is present in a section of the Batten Kill in Washington County. It is the first known presence of this aquatic nuisance algae--also called "rock snot"--in New York State. <p>Unlike many other aquatic nuisance plants, <span style="font-style: italic;">Didymosphenia geminata</span> grows on the bottom of flowing and still waters. It can develop thick mats even in fast-flowing trout streams. In its presence, fishing becomes difficult, the abundance of bottom-dwelling organisms declines, and trout and other fish that feed on those organisms also decline. </p> <div class="imagealignleft"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.dec.ny.gov/images/environmentdec_images/didymo0907.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 200px;" src="http://www.dec.ny.gov/images/environmentdec_images/didymo0907.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Didymo clings to a rock that was submerged</span></span></div> <p>Meandering for 29 miles from Vermont to the Hudson River, the Batten Kill is a celebrated trout stream, as well as a popular watercourse for kayaking, canoeing and tubing. Didymo, which resembles rotting cardboard when exposed and dried, was observed in a section around and downstream of Route 22 where it crosses near the Village of Salem. Vermont also has confirmed the presence of didymo in a section just upstream of the border with New York State.</p> <p>The microscopic algae cling unseen to waders, boots, boats, lures, hooks, sinkers, fishing line, and other fishing gear, and remain viable for several weeks under even slightly moist conditions. Absorbent items--for example, the felt-soled waders and wading boots commonly used by stream anglers--require thorough attention as discussed below. Anglers, kayakers and canoeists, boaters and jet skiers can unknowingly spread didymo.</p></blockquote><p></p>Read the entire article, including tips for prevention and control at <a href="http://www.dec.ny.gov/environmentdec/36890.html">http://www.dec.ny.gov/environmentdec/36890.html</a><br />Source: <em>Environment DEC</em>, NYS DEC's online newsletterMichael R. Martinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16114816233566987498noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22696839.post-10506893102646850522007-09-09T12:11:00.000-04:002007-09-09T12:17:19.526-04:00NALMS Blue Green Algae InitiativeNALMS has taken a leadership role on the issue of cyanobacteria (blue-green algae) toxicity with their Blue Green Algae Initiative. Their new website contains information on conditions favoring blooms, human/animal health issues, toxicity, and much more.<br /><blockquote>Cyanobacteria (blue-green algae) blooms have been occurring throughout the world for thousands of years. Cyanobacteria produce a number of nuisance compounds, including those that are toxic or cause severe taste-and-odor problems in drinking water supplies. Cyanobacterial toxins can make drinking water and recreational use of water unsafe. Animals die yearly as a result of cyanotoxins, and though human death is not common, many people experience symptoms indicative of cyanotoxin exposure. Very little is known about the long-term side affects of ingestion of cyanotoxins, so alhtough there is a guideline set by WHO for safe concentrations, minimal concentrations could cause an effect over time.</blockquote>Visit the NALMS <a href="http://www.nalms.org/Resources/BlueGreenInitiative/Overview.htm">Blue Green Algae Initiative</a> page at http://www.nalms.org/Resources/BlueGreenInitiative/Overview.htmMichael R. Martinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16114816233566987498noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22696839.post-1161281133227121202006-10-19T14:05:00.000-04:002006-10-19T14:05:33.376-04:00U.N. says number of ocean "dead zones" rising fast - Yahoo! News<a href="http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20061019/sc_nm/environment_deadzones_dc_1">U.N. says number of ocean "dead zones" rising fast</a><br /> <span>By Daniel Wallis </span> <em class="timedate">Thu Oct 19, 9:19 AM ET</em><div class="storyhdr"><p> </p> </div> <p></p><blockquote><p> NAIROBI (Reuters) - The number of "dead zones" in the world's oceans may have increased by a third in just two years, threatening fish stocks and the people who depend on them, the U.N. Environment Program said on Thursday.</p><p>Fertilizers, sewage, fossil fuel burning and other pollutants have led to a doubling in the number of oxygen-deficient coastal areas every decade since the 1960s.</p> <p>Now experts estimate there are 200 so-called ocean dead zones, compared with 150 two years ago.</p> <p>"Some successes are being scored but in other areas -- like sewage, nutrients from fertilizer run off, animal wastes and atmospheric pollution; sediment mobilization and marine litter -- the problems are intensifying," UNEP Executive Director Achim Steiner said in a statement.</p></blockquote><p></p><p>read the rest of the article at <a href="http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20061019/sc_nm/environment_deadzones_dc_1">http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20061019/sc_nm/environment_deadzones_dc_1</a><br /></p>Michael R. Martinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16114816233566987498noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22696839.post-1158680735353731372006-09-19T11:45:00.000-04:002006-09-19T11:47:49.380-04:00Oil from Algae?Ever wondered if you could get OIL from ALGAE? Do you wonder now that I mentioned it? Check out the "Oil From Algae" Yahoo Group described below:<br /><a href="http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/oil_from_algae/"></a><blockquote><a href="http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/oil_from_algae/">oil_from_algae : oil from algae</a>: "Is it feasible to grow algae, harvest the oils, and use the algae oil for fuel? Discuss techniques, research results, and future directions. "</blockquote><span style="font-style: italic;font-size:85%;" >Thanks to OfA group moderator (?) Tom Catino for the heads-up on this one.</span>Michael R. Martinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16114816233566987498noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22696839.post-1150313217671862812006-06-14T15:26:00.000-04:002006-06-14T15:54:11.086-04:00Algae returns to Great Lakes<a href="http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060614/ap_on_sc/annoying_algae_1">Algae returns to Great Lakes</a>: "Algae returns to Great Lakes<br /><br />By JOHN FLESHER, Associated Press Writer<br />TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. - Call it the return of the green slime.<br /><blockquote>Back in the 1960s, foul gobs of algae along Great Lakes shorelines made swimmers and sunbathers miserable before a crackdown on phosphorus pollution repelled the invasion.<br /><br />Now, the algae are mounting a comeback and controlling it may be tougher this time, according to the Michigan Environmental Council, an umbrella organization for a host of environmental and public interest organizations in the state.<br /><br />'The nightmare may be poised to repeat itself,' the council said in a statement accompanying a report released Wednesday.<br /><br />Algae blooms have been on the rise since the mid-1990s in parts of all of the Great Lakes except Lake Superior, whose icy waters are not as hospitable to the slimy aquatic plants."</blockquote>Michael R. Martinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16114816233566987498noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22696839.post-1141164044307102592006-02-28T16:39:00.000-05:002006-02-28T17:01:42.976-05:00Where can you find the Image Library Images?Images from Michael R. Martin's Phytoplankton Image Library have been used in an odd diversity of places. Here is one example:<br /><br /><span style="font-size:180%;"><a href="http://www.fieldtrip.com/ny/27695101.htm"><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">Hayden Planetarium<br />Rose Center for Earth and Space</span></a></span><br /><span style="font-family:Arial,Helvetica;"><blockquote>The Rose Center's <b><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">S</span><span style="color: rgb(255, 7, 0);">c</span><span style="color: rgb(255, 15, 0);">a</span><span style="color: rgb(255, 22, 0);">l</span><span style="color: rgb(255, 30, 0);">e</span><span style="color: rgb(255, 38, 0);">s </span><span style="color: rgb(255, 53, 0);">o</span><span style="color: rgb(255, 61, 0);">f </span><span style="color: rgb(255, 76, 0);">t</span><span style="color: rgb(255, 84, 0);">h</span><span style="color: rgb(255, 91, 0);">e </span><span style="color: rgb(255, 107, 0);">U</span><span style="color: rgb(255, 114, 0);">n</span><span style="color: rgb(255, 122, 0);">i</span><span style="color: rgb(255, 130, 0);">v</span><span style="color: rgb(255, 137, 0);">e</span><span style="color: rgb(255, 145, 0);">r</span><span style="color: rgb(255, 153, 0);">s</span><span style="color: rgb(255, 160, 0);">e</span></b> walkway hugs the glass walls of the Rose Center and features differently scaled models that illustrate the relative size of cosmic and human objects, from galaxies, stars and planets, to the human brain and nucleus of the smallest atom. The 400-foot long walkway ingeniously uses the Hayden Sphere for size comparison.</blockquote>One of my <span style="font-style: italic;">Asterionella</span> images is used to show the scale of things at 0.0001. And here are pictures of that very image in place, with my suitably impressed sister and nephew striking a pose.<br /><br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/3514/425/1600/rose1.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/3514/425/320/rose1.jpg" alt="Asterionella at the Rose Center" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/3514/425/1600/rose2.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/3514/425/320/rose2.jpg" alt="Suzette pointing at algae" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/3514/425/1600/rose3.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/3514/425/320/rose3.jpg" alt="Adam pointing at algae" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 153, 0);font-size:130%;" >So, next time you are in NYC . . .</span>Michael R. Martinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16114816233566987498noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22696839.post-1140755112219261462006-02-23T23:25:00.000-05:002006-02-25T13:41:22.340-05:00Saving the Earth can also bring profit to startups<a href="http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2006/02/19/BUGA5HAMNK1.DTL&type=printable">Saving the Earth can also bring profit to startups</a>: "startup Planktos plans to create huge algae blooms at sea that will suck some of the greenhouse gas out of the atmosphere, then sell credits to European companies unable to meet their emissions targets.<br /><br />Those companies would, in essence, pay Planktos to take out of the air carbon dioxide they are putting in. Should California, New York or other American states adopt similar cap-and-trade systems, Planktos would sell here, too.<br /><br />Russ George of Planktos belongs to a small but growing group of entrepreneurs trying to turn carbon dioxide limits into business plans. Spurred by the Kyoto Protocol that mandated greenhouse gas reductions in Europe and Japan, they are dreaming up products and services they can sell to companies that take advantage of cap-and-trade systems.<br /><br />Like many in the nascent field, Planktos is still in its early stages. George and his colleagues are running offshore tests to see if they can reliably produce the size of phytoplankton blooms they want, using ground-up iron ore to stimulate growth. They also are starting a forest restoration project in Hungary to remove carbon dioxide from the air. The company generated enough interest that Vancouver's Solar Energy Ltd. bought it last year for "Michael R. Martinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16114816233566987498noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22696839.post-1140754166081719222006-02-23T23:09:00.000-05:002006-02-23T23:09:26.083-05:00Mutant Algae Is Hydrogen Factory<a href="http://www.wired.com/news/technology/0,70273-0.html?tw=rss.technology">Wired News:</a>: "Mutant Algae Is Hydrogen Factory"<br /><br /><p>Researchers at the University of California at Berkeley have engineered a strain of pond scum that could, with further refinements, produce vast amounts of hydrogen through photosynthesis.</p> <p>The work, led by plant physiologist Tasios Melis, is so far unpublished. But if it proves correct, it would mean a major breakthrough in using algae as an industrial factory, not only for hydrogen, but for a wide range of products, from biodiesel to cosmetics. . . .<br /></p>Michael R. Martinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16114816233566987498noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22696839.post-1140753881604078312006-02-23T23:04:00.000-05:002006-02-28T17:05:32.220-05:00Blue Algae Herbal Remedy<span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">I'm not saying it's true, but it is sure fun to read the claims!</span><br /><a href="http://www.worldclassnutrition.com/bluealgae.html"></a><blockquote><a href="http://www.worldclassnutrition.com/bluealgae.html">Blue Algae Herbal Remedy - Dr LaMars</a>: "BLUE GREEN ALGAE 'Nature's Most Perfect & Powerful Food Source' - Enhanced Memory - Increased Energy - Resistance to Infection - Reduces Stress - Sense of Balance - Feeling of well-being"<br /><br /><span style=";font-family:arial,helvetica;font-size:85%;" >FOR THOSE WHO BURN THE CANDLE AT BOTH ENDS<br /><br />Harvested from the deep within the pristine waters of Klamath Lake in Oregon, Blue-Green Algae is one of nature's oldest and most perfect food sources. It is capable of naturally enhancing our ability to maintain both a healthy body and a healthy mind.<br /><br />Blue-Green Algae is a beneficial live food, similar to yogurt culture. This makes it easy for the body to digest and assimilate. It's perfectly balanced natural nutrition. A revolutionary new dehydration process allows all the enzymes to remain active - "Like eating fresh lettuce from the garden."<br /><br />The body brain cells in particular responds dynamically to the algae's electro-biological stimulants, which naturally rebalance the metabolism. As a result the body functions more efficiently, promoting weight loss and high-octane energy levels<br /><br />Energy Vitality Enhance Memory “Eating right” isn’t enough anymore You must give your body the nutritional fuel it needs.<br /><br />What Is BLUE-GREEN Algae How does It Work? Harvested from deep within the pristine waters of Klamath Lake in Oregon, Dr. LaMar's Blue Green A1gae is one of nature's oldest and most perfect food sources. It is capable of naturally enhancing our ability to maintain both a healthy body and a healthy mind.</span></blockquote><span style=";font-family:arial,helvetica;font-size:85%;" ><span style="font-style: italic;font-size:100%;" >OK. That's enough. If you want to read more, go to their website . . . </span><br /></span>Michael R. Martinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16114816233566987498noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22696839.post-1140669235983116802006-02-22T23:33:00.000-05:002006-02-23T22:54:07.890-05:00PhycoTech - Algal Taxonomy Links Page<a href="http://www.phycotech.com/index.html"><img style="width: 77px; height: 49px;" src="http://www.phycotech.com/images/Phycotech%20logo.gif" alt="Phycotech Logo" align="left" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:130%;"><a href="http://www.phycotech.com/AlgaeTaxLinks.htm"> PhycoTech - Algal Taxonomy Links Page</a></span><br /><br />An extensive list of links for algal taxonomy and more, including:<br /><ul><li><a href="http://www.phycotech.com/AlgaeTaxLinks.htm#General">Algal General</a><span style="text-decoration: underline;"></span></li><li><span style="text-decoration: underline;"></span><a href="http://www.phycotech.com/AlgaeTaxLinks.htm#Bluegreen">Algal Blue-Green</a></li><li><a href="http://www.phycotech.com/AlgaeTaxLinks.htm#Diatom">Algal Diatom</a><span style="text-decoration: underline;"></span></li><li><span style="text-decoration: underline;"></span><a href="http://www.phycotech.com/AlgaeTaxLinks.htm#Green">Algal Green</a></li><li><a href="http://www.phycotech.com/AlgaeTaxLinks.htm#Toxic">Toxic Algae</a></li></ul>Michael R. Martinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16114816233566987498noreply@blogger.com0