Determining blue-green algae hotspots could soon become a lot easier.
New research has emerged from the Laurentian University in Sudbury on determining new forms to test for algae in bodies of water. This new study has come from three years’ worth of research, and will involve direct scraping of algae itself instead of current methods of testing of the body of water that the algae is located in. One of the researchers, Charles Ramcharan, attests that this way of testing cuts result time in half, and can be done less frequently than current practices, which will allow for more time to analyze and work on possible solutions.
Ramcharan says, “It also means that we do a lot less work because we can go out and sample maybe once or twice a year. [We are] able to use the algae as sort of a long-term monitoring tool.”
Changing Algae Detection, Interaction, and Defense
Revolutionizing the methods of algae detection will vastly improve the ways that the scientific community is able to interact with the specimens. By being able to monitor the algae closer instead of simply relying on data determined from the algae’s body of water means that the data will be more accurate and precise in allowing for science to determine possible triggers and defenses against mass algae outbreaks.
This research also comes at a time when algae levels are predicted to rise dramatically. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) predicts “the 2015 western Lake Erie harmful algal bloom season will be among the most severe in recent years and could become the second most severe behind the record-setting 2011 bloom.” If Ramcharan’s research is accepted, the new method of algae detection would mark a new defense against this natural phenomenon.
So, What Are Harmful Algae Blooms?
Blue-green algae is a form of harmful algae blooms, or HAB in the scientific community. Toxic algae can be harmful to humans, by causing several lesser-known illnesses such as Paralytic Shellfish Poisoning, which is usually diagnosed in Canada. It is not known what causes these toxic algae blooms. However, these new forms of testing, as well as our knowledge of possible environmental triggers, will allow for us to be that much closer in solving this mystery.
