Research 🔬
NOAA-NCCOS
The spectacular natural beauty of Biscayne Bay that drives tourism and attracts nearly three million South Florida residents to its shores and waters is threatened by continuing pollution and the increasing likelihood of harmful algal blooms (HABs). And recent events indicate that the health of the bay is rapidly declining. Reversing this trend requires determining the factors that promote phytoplankton blooms and identifying areas where management actions toward improving water quality should be focused. Knowledge gained from proposed phytoplankton monitoring, genetic metabarcoding, and metabolomic characterization to detect algal toxins in coordination with a water quality monitoring program will be synthesized into a publicly-available database that will guide resource managers in the responsible stewardship of Biscayne Bay.
City of Austin, Texas
Cyanobacteria blooms have been recognized as a significant emerging threat to municipal and recreational water supplies. Under certain environmental conditions, the blooms have been found to produce toxins that have been linked to skin rashes, cancer, and even death of those that come into contact with or consumes impacted waters. It is therefore essential to monitor water supplies for the presence of or potential for toxigenic cyanobacteria to impair aquatic systems. In the Lake Austin reservoir during a recent drought of record, cyanobacteria bloom magnitude and duration significantly increased, leading to concerns about the potential for the reservoir that is a drinking water source as well as popular recreational reservoir to become impacted by cyanotoxins (Bellinger et al. 2018).
Lower Colorado River Authority
Cyanobacteria can be found floating in the water column (planktonic), growing on the bottom of lakes or rivers (benthic), attached to other algae (epiphytic), attached to substrates (periphyton), or in visible composites that aggregate on the water surface to form floating mats (metaphyton). These varied forms exist year-round in low numbers but can reproduce quickly in favorable conditions to form planktonic or benthic blooms. During bloom events, the rapid proliferation of cyanobacteria can result in elevated levels of cyanotoxins, which can lead to animal intoxication incidents. While planktonic blooms and their toxins have dominated the harmful algae literature, there is a growing need for research associated with benthic species and their toxins.
Everglades National Park Service
Research in the Everglades is examining periphyton as part of the CERP-S project (PIs: Dorn and Gaiser) as plans are being developed to restore natural water flow to the southern tip of Florida. We are using eDNA to examine these calcareous mats, which include a complex microalgal community and its microbiome, to compare periphyton community structure between the wet and dry seasons before and after flow restoration.
Wakulla Springs Microbiome
Florida State Legislative Initiative
Wakulla Springs is a natural attraction frequented by thousands of manatees, alligators, and tourists alike. However, the once crystal-clear, sapphire waters of Wakulla are becoming murky, threatened by contaminated waters via the karst labyrinth feeding the springs, originating underground in Florida and from adjacent states. The objective of this project is to examine the microbiomes (i.e., algae, bacteria, and viruses) of Wakulla Springs and its Source Waters using environmental DNA (eDNA) technologies to obtain a comprehensive profile of the microbial community. This includes the identity, presence, and abundance of taxa suspended in various sources of water around the park as well the waters feeding into the springs. The Wakulla Springs microbiome will then be compared to the microbiome data from water collected at targeted sites within the cave system to identify the potential source and mixing of water and possibly contaminants emerging from the spring vents. This research will generate deep-sequencing data of the water microbiome, permitting the identification of contaminating microbes and their sources. The Manning Lab at FIU will employ next-generation sequencing with a metagenomics workflow to 1) profile the microbiome of Wakulla Springs (including clear vs murky regions), 2) characterize the microbiomes of discrete sources of water feeding into Wakulla Springs, and 3) compare the metagenomic data to identify the water source(s) containing contaminants that may be impacting the clarity of the springs. Ultimately, these data will aid the broader project team toward the identification of fouling microbes and their water sources to guide remediation. Further, findings from the project will lay the foundation for future monitoring of Wakulla Springs to rapidly assess changes in the microbial community when issues arise.