Microcystis in low levels in Lake Erie

NOAA researchers on high alert for possible toxic algae.

Pote ntially toxic b lue - gre e n algae is b looming in we ste rn Lake Erie muc h soone r than normal this ye ar thanks to he avy rains and warm lake wate r.

T he re ’s no ne e d to rush out for b ottle d wate r, though — at le ast not ye t.

T he c onc e ntration ofmic roc ystis is so low right now that sc ie ntists don’t e ve n know ifit’s produc ing the toxin mic roc ystin ye t.

T he re ’s no sign ofit at T ole do’s wate r intake or the c ity’s Collins P ark W ate r T re atme nt P lant, Chuc k Campb e ll, the c ity’s c ommissione r of wate r tre atme nt, said.

S till, its e arlie r-thane xpe c te d arrival has put re se arc he rs on high ale rt.

T he National Oc e anic and A tmosphe ric A dministration will b e gin we e kly sampling ofope n we ste rn Lake Erie wate r ne xt we e k.It had b e e n planning on taking wate r sample s twic e in June , the n starting its we e kly re gime n on July 6, T im Davis, a re se arc h sc ie ntist at NOA A ’s Gre at Lake s lab oratory in A nn A rb or, said.

“W e will b e monitoring it more c lose ly b e c ause of this,” Davis said.

P lanktothrix, a mic roc ystin-produc ing c ousin, b e gan growing in Lake Erie ’s S andusky Bay a fe w we e ks ago.But that’s not a surprise : T he warmth and shallowne ss ofwate r the re promote s growth ofplanktothrix from M ay through Oc tob e r, he said.

Both mic roc ystis and planktothrix are toxinproduc ing forms ofc yanob ac te ria, me aning the y are ge ne tic ally b ac te - ria b ut c ommonly c alle d b lue -gre e n algae b e c ause ofthe ir appe aranc e and b e c ause ofhow the y mimic algae .

M ic roc ystis b e c ame we ste rn Lake Erie ’s dominant form ofb lue -gre e n algae in 1995, and has he ld that distinc tion almost annually sinc e .It also is prolife rating in othe r parts ofthe world, a sign ofe xc e ssive nutrie nt e nric hme nt in wate r glob ally.

T hough it usually doe sn’t de ve lop in we ste rn Lake Erie until A ugust, it has b e e n spotte d se ve ral time s in July and at le ast onc e in June ove r the past 2 0 ye ars.It ofte n starts out in the T ole - do are a, the n move s e ast to ab out the Lake Erie islands.S c ie ntists e xpe c t it to arrive e arlie r and stay longe r as c limate c hange b e c ome s more ac ute .