It's back! Green Slime Takes Over Great Lakes Beaches
Ann Arbor, MI — Cladophora, a green algae that plagued Great Lakes beaches during the 1960’s has resurfaced as a major problem. Lake Ontario, Lake Erie, Lake Michigan, and portions of Lake Huron are experiencing a resurgence in Cladophora, leaving many local residents and businesses fuming.
"In eastern Lake Erie, for example, we estimate that 13,000 tonnes of this algae grows along the shorelines during the peak summer period," says Scott Higgins, a scientist at the University of Waterloo. Higgins explains that when the algae dies it can become tangled in fishing nets, clog municipal or industrial water intakes, or wash onto beaches where it decomposes and releases noxious odors.
Higgins and colleagues at the University of Waterloo have developed a computer model to help lake managers and other scientists predict the timing and severity of the blooms, and also understand the root causes of the problem. The model suggests that phosphorus and water clarity are the key variables in controlling the blooms, and that the proliferation of zebra and quagga mussels in the Great Lakes may be exacerbating the problem.
Original Publication Information
Results of this study "The Wall of Green: The Status of Cladophora glomerata on the Northern Shores of Lake Erie’s Eastern Basin, 1995–2002," are reported by Scott N. Higgins, E. Todd Howell, Robert E. Hecky, Stephanie J. Guildford and Ralph E. Smith in the latest issue (Volume 31, No. 4, pp. 547-563) of the Journal of Great Lakes Research, published by the International Association for Great Lakes Research, 2005.
Contacts
For information about this study, contact Dr. Scott N. Higgins, Dept. of Biology, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario, N2L 3G1; snhiggin@sciborg.uwaterloo.ca; (519) 885-1211 x6439.
For information about the Journal of Great Lakes Research, contact Marlene Evans, Editor, National Water Research Institute, Environment Canada, 11 Innovation Boulevard, Saskatoon, SK, S7N 3H5, Canada; jglr@ec.gc.ca; (306) 975-5310.
Links
Since 1967, IAGLR has served as the focal point for compiling and disseminating multidisciplinary knowledge on North America's Laurentian Great Lakes and other large lakes of the world and their watersheds. In part, IAGLR communicates this knowledge through publication of the Journal of Great Lakes Research, available to members in print and electronic form. A searchable archive of the journal is available online and includes the abstracts of articles from the journal's inception in 1975 through the most recent issue. In addition, complete articles are available to members who have signed up for an electronic subscription.