Living on Lake Erie, people become familiar with the bright green paint look of Microcystis harmful algal blooms in the water, and management efforts have been focused on this nuisance for a while now. However, in Lake Erie’s Sandusky Bay, another cyanobacterial species is more prevalent, as Planktothrix blooms stain the bay’s water a dark olive green.

Both Microcystis and Planktothrix produce microcystin, a powerful toxin that can affect the liver, nervous system, and skin. However, the two species seem to prefer different nutrients: Microcystis uses phosphorus, while Planktothrix prefers nitrogen. Both types of algae also come in toxin-producing and non-toxic varieties, and little is known about what causes their blooms to become toxic.

When harmful algal blooms approach shoreline communities along Lake Erie, residents get worried: in addition to being generally unpleasant, the overabundance of blue-green algae could very well be producing microcystin, a toxin that affects the liver, skin, and nervous system. Water treatment plants that draw drinking water directly from the lake have learned to deal with the toxin, but the additional treatment cost can add up quickly at $3,000 per day.

An additional problem is posed by the fact that not all algal blooms are toxic, not all seemingly clear water is free of microcystin, and not all of the microcystin produced in an algal bloom is dissolved in the water column. Some of it may also adhere to sediments, which would make the toxin stick around for longer than it would if it remained in the water.

The words “avian influenza” – more commonly referred to as “bird flu” – still have a scary ring to them, even a few years after the massive media coverage from Asia. While the stories have all but disappeared from American news, researchers around the world continue to focus on avian influenza viruses, tracking their movements, and working to prevent their spread and contain outbreaks.

For some things, it’s easy to define their value: a pair of jeans or a pizza is worth whatever someone has paid for them. But for others, like a pristine beach or a great fishing spot, worth is much harder to define. In one of the research projects recently funded by Ohio Sea Grant, scientists and economists from Ohio State University will develop an economic model that does just that, to help policy makers decide which conservation practices will raise the value of the Lake Erie ecosystem to its residents and visitors.

When algal blooms hit Lake Erie, discussions about the blooms’ causes become hot topics in the surrounding communities. But while Lake Erie algal blooms are an important concern for the region, people often don’t think about the impact that those nutrients and sediments can have on the watershed before they reach places like Sandusky Bay. Where do these problematic materials come from? Where do they enter the waterways? How do they affect plant and animal life, both in the stream and along streambanks? And what are the best ways to reduce the impacts of nutrients and sediments, both on local streams and on their eventual destination, Lake Erie?

On a late summer day on Lake Erie, what looks like an upside down bucket, surrounded by an inner tube and attached to hoses and wires, floats next to a Stone Lab research vessel. On the boat, a research team is taking air samples from below the bucket for later analysis, and measuring environmental conditions like air and water temperature.

Dr. Amy Townsend-Small and her students are measuring methane emissions from the surface of Lake Erie. Like carbon dioxide, methane acts as a greenhouse gas in the atmosphere, trapping heat and contributing to global warming.

Lake Erie supports some of the most important fisheries in the Great Lakes, and many businesses along the shore rely on this influx of income, from restaurants and hotels to charter fishing operations. But as climate changes in the region, currently popular fish species like yellow perch may become less abundant, potentially forcing industries and customers alike to adapt their habits.

Dr. Stuart Ludsin, Assistant Professor in Ohio State University’s Department of Evolution, Ecology and Organismal Biology (OSU-EEOB), is studying the potential impacts of climate change on fish in the Great Lakes, and focusing particularly on two predicted impacts: warming temperatures and an increase in extreme precipitation.

In the summer of 2006, students at the University of Toledo’s Lake Erie Center made a ghastly discovery on the beach across the street: dead fish washed up on the shore, and struggling fish in the shallow water, all showing bright red hemorrhages on their sides. The students and their instructor, Dr. Carol Stepien, later found out that they had witnessed the first outbreak of viral hemorrhagic septicemia virus, or VHSv, in western Lake Erie.

Ohio Sea Grant’s annual Charter Captains Conference has become a tradition for Lake Erie charter boat captains, with many attendees regularly returning for the latest updates in Lake Erie fishing, regulations, and business opportunities. This year’s conference was no exception, with more than half of the 168 attendees indicating that they had been to a previous conference.