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R/E-24G
Natural Algaecides: Compounds Produced by Barley Straw to Reduce Harmful Algal Blooms
Principal Investigator:
Allen PlaceStart/End Year:
2019 - 2020Institution:
University of Maryland Center for Environmental ScienceCo-Principal Investigator:
Taylor Armstrong, University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science, Institute of Marine and Environmental TechnologyTopic(s):
- Harmful and Other Algal Blooms
Strategic focus area:
Healthy coastal ecosystemsDescription:
Identification and development of effective algaecides for commercial use is an active area of research, as the intensity and frequency of harmful algal blooms (HABs) are increasing worldwide. Although algaecides are a focus of HAB mitigation, there are still many unknowns. To this end, we propose the following objectives: 1) identify the algaecides released by barley straw with and without the use of white-rot fungi, Trametes versicolor, in the laboratory, 2) identify the impact of the algaecides on microcystin toxin production (toxin per cell/total toxin) and growth rate of the blue-green algae, Microcystis aeruginosa, and 3) compare algaecides found in the controlled laboratory setting to those found in Lake Williston post barley straw deployment. This research will help scientists and managers understand which compounds are the best growth inhibitors of M. aeruginosa and if the addition of fungus in barley straw is a more effective management strategy for cyanobacterial blooms.
Funding Start Year
2019
Funding End Year
2020
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Featured Fellow
Nina Santos
Nina Santos is a Ph.D. student at the Chesapeake Biological Laboratory at the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science. For her dissertation, she is focused on small shrimp-like crustaceans called mysids – an understudied yet important part of many estuarine and coastal food webs.
Featured Research Project
Developing a habitat model for mysids, an important link in Chesapeake Bay food webs
Mysids are important mesozooplankton prey for many species of fish in Chesapeake Bay and are an important link in transferring energy from lower to upper trophic levels. Mysids also serve as biological vectors for benthic-pelagic coupling due to their diel vertical migration and omnivorous prey-switching behavior, which makes mysids important regulators of food web architecture. Despite their central role in coastal food webs, surprisingly little is known about mysid ecology and dynamics in Chesapeake Bay.
