Water Resources Research Act Program

Details for Project ID 2020NH004S

Evaluating Environmental DNA Lake Assessments: A potential early warning alert for the presence of cyanobacteria associated with HAB formation in New England lakes

Institute: New Hampshire
USGS Grant Number:
Year Established: 2020 Start Date: 2019-11-01 End Date: 2022-10-31
Total Federal Funds: $131,889 Total Non-Federal Funds: Not available

Principal Investigators: William McDowell

Project Summary: Cyanobacteria and their associated toxins occur with increasing frequency in fresh water systems. Monitoring and understanding the formation of these harmful algal blooms (HABs) are crucial to protect human and environmental health. Current monitoring efforts have centered on the continuous monitoring of algal pigments (chlorophyll-a and phycocyanin), direct microscopic cell counts, and water column transparency. While these methods are effective and should remain as monitoring tools, they can be compromised by contaminated signals owing to high turbidity and fluorescent dissolved organic matter (FDOM) that often co-occur in the water column. They are often labor intensive and have low sampling resolution, as is the case for direct cell counts by fluorescence or phase-contrast microscopy. Emerging molecular genetic techniques provide sensitive species-level cyanobacterial detection well before their pigment signals can be detected and can determine the presence and abundance of genes responsible for cyanotoxin production. Here we propose to apply these techniques to provide early warning alerts to HAB formation and cyanotoxin production in New England lakes and the glacial kettle ponds of Cape Cod.