Spatiotemporal Variability of Cyanobacterial Harmful Algal ...

Spatiotemporal Variability of Cyanobacterial Harmful Algal Blooms with Respect to Changing Environmental Conditions

Jennifer L. Graham Kansas Water Science Center

National Water Quality Monitoring Council Webex Meeting May 14, 2015

Two Decades of Cyanobacterial Harmful Algal Bloom Research

• Who?

• What?

• When?

• Where?

• How?

• WHY?

Forest

0.0

0.5

1.0

1.5

2.0

Bilby

0.0

0.5

1.0

1.5

2.0

Stratified Period

Paho

0.0

0.5

1.0

1.5

2.0

Nodaway

0.0

0.5

1.0

1.5

2.0

Mozingo

0.0

0.5

1.0

1.5

2.0

Marceline

2004Ja

n Feb

M

ar

Apr M

ay

Jun

Jul

Aug Sep

Oct

Nov

Dec

0

5

10

15

20

25

Harrison

Tot

al M

icro

cyst

in (µ

g/L

)

0.0

0.5

1.0

1.5

2.0

Sterling

2004Ja

n Feb

M

ar

Apr M

ay

Jun

Jul

Aug Sep

Oct

Nov

Dec

0.0

0.5

1.0

1.5

2.0

There are Numerous Examples of Successful Collaborative Partnerships and CWP Studies

• Cooperative Water Program – AR, FL, IA, IN, KS, LA, MI, MN, NE,

NJ, OH, OR, NC, SC, SD, TX

• National Research Program

• Ecosystems, Environmental Health, Toxics

• Federal Partners – USACE, BOR, CDC, EPA, FDA,

FWS, NASA, NIH, NOAA, USDA

• University Partners

Kansas Stormwater Retention Pond Photo Courtesy of Johnson County Stormwater

Weatherby Lake, Missouri Photo Courtesy of Anonymous Source http://water.usgs.gov/coop/

USGS Capabilities

• Nationally Consistent Guidelines http://water.usgs.gov/owq/FieldManual/Chapter7/7.5

• Robust and Quantitative Analytical Methods for

Cyanotoxins http://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2008/1341/

• Molecular Methods

http://dx.doi/org/10.311/sir20135189

• Other Developing Approaches

High Microcystin Concentrations (> 1 µg/L) in the 2007 National Lake Assessment Were Most Common in the Upper Midwest

After Beaver and others, 2014

33% of lakes had detections (n=1,028) Maximum concentration: 230 µg/L Median: <0.10 µg/L (0.52 µg/L*) Mean: 1.0 µg/L (3.0 µg/L*)

*Detections only

Multiple Toxins and Taste-and-Odor Compounds Frequently Co-Occur in Cyanobacterial Blooms

After Graham and others, 2010

Occurrence of Cyanotoxins and Taste-and-Odor Compounds is Not Necessarily Tightly Coupled to Cyanobacterial Abundance or Community Composition

Francy and others, in preparation

Harsha Lake, OH - 2014

05/01

/14

05/14

/14

05/27

/14

06/09

/14

06/22

/14

07/05

/14

07/18

/14

07/31

/14

08/13

/14

08/26

/14

09/08

/14

09/21

/14

10/04

/14

10/17

/14

10/30

/14

Rel

ativ

e C

omm

unity

Com

posi

tion

(per

cent

)

0

20

40

60

80

100

Cya

noba

cter

ial B

iovo

lum

e (m

icro

met

ers c

ubed

per

mill

ilite

r)

1

10

100

1,000

10,000

100,000

1,000,000

10,000,000

100,000,000

1,000,000,000

10,000,000,000

Cya

noto

xin

Con

cent

ratio

n (

g/L

)

0.01

0.1

1

10

100

Anabaena Microcystis Planktothrix Other Microcystin Producers Non-Toxic Cyanobacteria Cyanobacterial BiovolumeMicrocystin

Cyanobacterial Toxins and Taste-and-Odor Compounds May Be Transported for Relatively Long Distances Downstream from Lakes and Reservoirs

Graham and others, 2012 http://pubs.usgs.gov/sir/2012/5129/

SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER 201109/01 09/06 09/11 09/16 09/21 09/26 10/01

TOTA

L M

ICR

OC

YST

IN, I

N M

ICR

OG

RA

MS

PER

LIT

ER

0.01

0.1

1

10

100

1,000

10,000

100,000

1,000,000MILFORD RESERVOIR NORTH OF DAMMILFORD RESERVOIR OUTFLOW

ANALYTICAL METHOD DETECTION LIMIT

KANSAS DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND ENVIRONMENT GUIDELINE FOR PUBLIC HEALTH WARNING

WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION PROVISIONAL GUIDELINE FOR FINISHED DRINKING WATER

SEPTEMBER 8, 2011

DISTANCE UPSTREAM FROM CONFLUENCE WITH MISSOURI RIVER, IN MILES

020406080100120140160180

TO

TA

L M

ICR

OC

YST

IN (

g/L

)

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

TRIBUTARY CONCENTRATIONMAIN-STEM CONCENTRATONESTIMATED CONCENTRATION

WA

KA

RU

SA

DEL

AW

AR

E

BIG

BLU

E

REP

UBL

ICA

N

SMO

KY

HIL

LANALYTICAL DETECTION THRESHOLD

WHO PROVISIONAL DRINKING-WATER GUIDELINE

Cheney Reservoir Study Objectives 2001-Present

• Evaluating water-quality

• Assessing relations between

water-quality and cyanobacteria, taste-and-odor, and cyanotoxins

• Developing real-time water-quality models for taste-and-odor and cyanotoxins

• Providing real-time warnings of water-quality issues that pose potential problems for water treatment

Assist the city of Wichita in understanding and managing algal-related and other potential water-supply issues in Cheney Reservoir by:

Data Collection 2001-Present

• Discrete Samples – Phytoplankton – Geosmin/MIB – Microcystin (added 2003) – Nutrients – Chlorophyll – Sediment – Zooplankton (added 2009)

• Real-time Water-Quality Variables – 2001 - Specific conductance, pH,

water temperature, turbidity, dissolved oxygen, chlorophyll

– 2005 – light penetration – 2006 – second monitor near bottom,

cyanobacteria, nitrate – 2007 – wind speed and direction

Continuous Water-Quality Monitors Can Be Used to Develop Models to Compute Microcystin and

Geosmin Concentrations in Real Time

• Recorded and transmitted hourly

• Data available online: http://waterdata.usgs.gov http://nrtwq.usgs.gov/ks

• Develop relations to estimate

concentrations of variables that cannot be measured in real time

Dissolved oxygen

pH

Turbidity Dissolved organic matter

Chlorophyll and blue-green algae

Specific conductance and water temperature

During 2001-2012, Geosmin Typically Occurred in Late Winter and Microcystin Typically Occurred in Late Summer

Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec

Medi

an N

orm

alize

d Va

lues

-0.5

-0.4

-0.3

-0.2

-0.1

0.0

0.1

0.2

0.3GeosminMicrocystinCyanobacteria

The Logistic Regression Model for Probability of Microcystin Concentrations > 0.1 µg/L in Cheney Reservoir Includes a

Seasonal Component and Chlorophyll as Explanatory Variables

Stone and Graham, http://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2013/1123/

01/13

02/

13 03/

13 04/

13 05/

13 06/

13 07/

13 08/

13 09/

13 10/

13 11/

13 12/

13 01/

14 02/

14

Prob

abilit

y of E

xcee

ding

0.1

g/L

0.0

0.2

0.4

0.6

0.8

1.0

Micr

ocys

tin (

g/L)

0.01

0.1

1

10

http://nrtwq.usgs.gov/ks

Anomalous Events, Such as Large Summer Inflows, May Disrupt Typical Seasonal Patterns

Cheney ReservoirJanuary-December 2013

Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec

Geos

min

(ng/

L)

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

Rese

rvoi

r Sto

rage

(acr

e-fe

et)

100000

120000

140000

160000

180000

200000

220000

240000

Micr

ocys

tin (

g/L)

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

GeosminReservoir StorageMicrocystin

Cyanobacteria and Associated Compounds May Vary Longitudinally in Reservoirs Due to Gradients in Water-Quality and Hydrologic Conditions

Cheney ReservoirAugust 30, 2013

Cheney

41

Cheney

33

Cheney

27

Cheney

23

Cheney

9

Cheney

4

Geos

min

(ng/

L)

0

1,000

2,000

3,000

4,000

5,000

6,000

7,000

8,000

9,000

Micr

ocys

tin (

g/L)

0.0

0.2

0.4

0.6

0.8

1.0

1.2

1.4

1.6

1.8

2.0

Cyan

obac

teria

l Bio

volu

me (

mm

3 /mL)

100,000

1,000,000

10,000,000

100,000,000

Geosmin Microcystin Cyanobacteria

Downstream

Genetic Data Improve Understanding of Spatiotemporal Gradients Observed in Cyanobacteria and Associated Compounds

Cheney 4 Cheney 23 Cheney 41

7% of BV Anabaena 85% of BV Anabaena ~100% of BV Anabaena

58% of BV Microcystis 15% of BV Microcystis <1% of BV Microcystis

Satellite (and Other Aerial) Imagery Captures Spatial Variability Across an Entire Lake Surface

Cheney Reservoir, KS July 2014 HICO Imagery

Absorption by phycocyanin

c. 625 nm Absorption by chlorophyll-a

c. 680 nm

Ground Truth Data Are Required to Develop Models to Estimate Cyanobacterial Abundance Using Satellite Imagery

Cheney Reservoir, KS June 2014

6 MPH

6 MPH

Chlorophyll Range: 5-42 µg/L Mean: 9 µg/L St. Dev.: 3.3 µg/L N: 305

Phycocyanin Range: 0-1 µg/L Mean: 0.3 µg/L St. Dev.: 0.2 µg/L N: 305

Isotope Data Can Help Understand Sources of Nutrients Being Utilized By Cyanobacterial Communities

NO3 uptake will typically plot here- POM about 4‰ lighter than NO3

POM samples have heavier δ15N in comparison to NO3

Metagenomic Data Can Help Understand Biological Drivers of Cyanobacterial Community Dynamics

Genera Rank Abundance Genera Rank Abundance Predatory bacteria Chytrid fungi Flavobacterium 23 Batrachochytrium 386 Saprospira 167 Cytophaga 184 Protozoans Sorangium 200 Naegleri 685 Bdellovibrio 227 Dictyostelium 813 Mycococcus 422 Acanthamoeba 915 Bacteriovorax 473 Entamoeba 1182 Stigmatella 607 Polysphondylium 1295 Herpetosiphon 615 Micavibrio 881 Metazoans

Daphnia 4 Viruses Nematostella 193 Unclassified Myoviridae 7 Harpegnathos 242 T4-like Myoviridae 32 Columba 317 Unclassified Phages 37 Acyrthosiphon 323 Unclassified Siphoviridae 44 Unclassified Podoviridae 62 Unclassified dsDNA Phages 118

Initial Assessment of Potential Cyanobacterial Predators in Cheney Reservoir, KS

Conclusions • Cyanobacterial blooms and

associated toxins and taste-and-odor compounds commonly occur throughout the United States.

• Several relatively new approaches are available to help describe the spatiotemporal variability and environmental factors driving the occurrence of cyanobacterial blooms and associated compounds.

• Much more study is needed to develop reliable means of predicting and responding to cyanobacterial blooms to ensure public health protection.

Milford Lake, Kansas September 2011

Additional Information:

Cyanobacteria - http://ks.water.usgs.gov/cyanobacteria Cheney – http://ks.water.usgs.gov/Cheney-Reservoir

[email protected] 785-832-3511