Scientists, farmers meet, discuss algae damage
Agricultural runoff contributes to scum plaguing Lake Erie.
After having a federal scientist take them on a visual tour of algae outbreaks around the world, about 300 people attending a major Toledo-based conference on the subject settled in for a day full of presentations by farmers and other agricultural experts trying to find ways to cooperatively address the public health nemesis.
The event, Understanding Harmful Algal Blooms: State of the Science, was the third-annual program of its kind since the 2014 Toledo water crisis. Held each year at the Stranahan Theater & Great Hall, the gatherings have been organized by Ohio Sea Grant and Ohio State University’s Stone Laboratory, with support from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and others.
Peter Kleinman, a scientist with the USDA’s Agricultural Research Service in Pennsylvania, opened the conference on Thursday with an overview of attempts to combat toxin-producing algae anywhere from the Netherlands to Australia. His presentation underscored how the scum that has plagued western Lake Erie is merely a symptom of a global problem that has been steadily on the rise as Earth’s climate warms and its land use becomes more complicated, with more people and more intensive farming practices.
Of the hundreds of types of algae across the world, many are good and contribute to the food chain that support fish. The so-called “harmful algal blooms” are actually outbreaks of bacteria that look and grow like algae. Called cyanobacteria because of their bluish-green hue, they garner most attention from public health experts and others because of their ability to produce toxins that can kill people and their pets, such as dogs.
The event was held the day after a free public screening of a 2017 film, Toxic Puzzle: Hunt for the Hidden Killer, was shown at the Toledo Museum of Art’s Peristyle. About 900 people attended. The film highlighted lesser-known research, including potential connections to Lou Gehrig’s, Parkinson’s, and Alzheimer’s diseases.
Agriculture has for years defended its practices, although a mass balance report in April by the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency shows that 88 percent of the algae-forming phosphorus and 89 percent of the nitrogen coming down the Maumee River and into western Lake Erie comes from nonpoint sources.
The most common is agricultural runoff. Similarly high percentages were found at other Lake Erie tributaries. Phosphorus is the nutrient that largely determines the size of algal blooms, while nitrogen greatly influences their toxicity.
Terry McClure, who owns and operates McClure Farms in Paulding County, was one of four speakers on a panel dedicated to farmers’ perspective. He also is one of about 30 who offered their sites for “edge-of-field” studies that OSU and the USDA has been doing to collect runoff data and see what farm practices work best.