{"id":2197,"date":"2020-05-13T10:53:32","date_gmt":"2020-05-13T17:53:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/extension.wsu.edu\/water\/?post_type=article&p=2197"},"modified":"2020-05-26T10:46:08","modified_gmt":"2020-05-26T17:46:08","slug":"too-much-of-a-good-thing","status":"publish","type":"article","link":"https:\/\/extension.wsu.edu\/water\/article\/too-much-of-a-good-thing\/","title":{"rendered":"Too Much of a Good Thing?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Harmful Algae Blooms<\/em><\/h3>\n
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Graduate student Katie Sweeney heads to the lab after a day of sampling algae in Vancouver Lake, Clark County WA. Photo Alisha Jucevic.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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On any given summer day, people windsurf, boat and birdwatch at Vancouver Lake, near the Columbia River, just west of Vancouver, Washington. But the lake has been closed to recreation during some summer months in recent years due to harmful algae blooms (HABs). HABs may contain toxins that can cause sickness or even death in people, pets, fish, birds, and wild animals.<\/p>\n

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Cyanobacteria bloom in Vancouver Lake. Photo Jennifer Duerr Boyer, WSU.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

A \u201cbloom\u201d doesn\u2019t mean flowers in this case but refers to an explosion in algal growth. The main causes of algae blooms include excess nutrients (most from human activities such as faulty septic systems, landscape fertilizing, and stormwater runoff), sufficient sunlight, poor water circulation, and warm water temperatures. Algal blooms occur naturally every spring in lakes at our latitude. Most blooms are harmless, but they can be unsightly, smelly, or slimy, especially as they decay. But sometimes the blooms produce toxins that are harmful, and that\u2019s a problem.<\/p>\n

Dr. Gretchen Rollwagen-Bollens, who co-directs the WSU Aquatic Ecology Lab in Vancouver with Dr. Stephen Bollens, and her colleagues, have spent more than a decade taking a deep look at the shallow Vancouver Lake. They are focused on identifying the factors contributing to cyanobacterial blooms in the lake.<\/p>\n

Cyanobacteria, also known as blue-green algae, are microorganisms related to bacteria that are capable of photosynthesis. They are common in aquatic systems throughout the world and are an important part of the food web. Cyanobacteria occur naturally and typically aren\u2019t a problem. But over the past several decades, there have been an increasing number of excessive blooms, and that is a cause for concern because some cyanobacterial species produce toxins that may cause illness or fatalities to humans and\/or pets after ingestion or exposure. Cyanobacterial blooms may also diminish water quality and decrease dissolved oxygen levels. This leads to \ufb01sh kills, decreased biodiversity, and the disruption of ecosystems and food webs. Harmful cyanobacterial blooms have recently become a worldwide problem, and the frequency and magnitude of these events is likely to increase in the future due to the warming of water bodies caused by climate change.<\/p>\n

\"Woman
Sweeney works in lab. Photo Alisha Jucevic.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Rollwagen-Bollens and her colleagues are examining the interaction of different factors that drive cyanobacterial blooms, including interactions within the food web which may increase or decrease a harmful bloom.<\/p>\n

The Vancouver Lake food web primarily consists of:<\/p>\n