[Past Projects]
Dr. Francisco Moore and E. Ashley Bair
Project Summary:
Harmful Algae Blooms have been an increasingly frequent problem in freshwater supplies used for recreation and drinking water. A combination of factors, including climate change and industrial and agricultural runoff have lead to intense blooms of algae which can make toxins which are dangerous to humans and wildlife. In recent years, beaches have been closed and public water systems have had to issue no-drink warnings because toxicity has reached dangerous levels. In my lab, I am investigating the consequences of algal bloom treatment and prevention, as well as their effect on aquatic wildlife.
Research skill and activities:
In these projects you will be introduced to image analysis software and basic electronics. While the majority of your skills will be learned at the lab bench and computer screen, there will be field work for sample and data collection in some projects. Anyone coming out to the field will be involved in boating, drone flying (with a headset, which may cause motion sickness), or both (so should not be prone to motion sickness).
Projects:
Project 1: To Clump or Dump – Water treatment plants add chemicals to clump together and remove large particles, including the cyanobacteria cells which make toxins. However, these chemicals can also destroy the cells, which may release toxins into the water. We are investigation how this destruction occurs under various conditions so that treatment plants can be better informed on dosing amounts.
Project 2: The Cost of Toxicity – Why do some cyanobacteria strains produce toxins while others don’t? Even closely related species differ in this ability. Everything a cell does has a cost. To quantify this cost, we are removing toxin genes from cyanobacteria. We will then analyze how this effects its growth rate under different conditions.
Project 3: Hey Fish, don’t eat that! – Cyanotoxins are not just dangerous to humans, they also cause harm to aquatic life! This can negatively impact ecosystems and fisheries. While we know that intense blooms lead to fish kills, we do not have a complete understanding of how non-lethal toxicity might affect fish. Collecting fish during algae blooms, we will analyze their tissue to determine how much toxin they are accumulating and what they are accumulating it from.