Lake Sampling... Golden Algae

[Fraggle145]

As the Drunkytown Limnologist (limnology=study of inland water bodies), sorry I havent been around in a while...

As some of you know i study Golden Algae at OU trying to get my PhD... Anyway I have been sampling lakes on Fri-Sun in the Red River drainage OK/TX for the past month and a half (hence why i havent been posting near as much). I have sampled 63 different lakes from Tom, OK (Texarkana) to Clarendon, TX (Amarillo). These range from private farm ponds to the largest reservoirs. I am trying to make a distribution map of Golden algae using genetic detection techniques as well as a susceptibility map based on physical and chemical characters. And I am pretty damn proud of myself for getting it all done (well I am almost done for this year).

I've been doing this out of a project sponsored by the ODWC and the OU biostation, as Golden Algae has been blooming during the winter/early spring in Lake Texoma and killing fish since 2005. Well the this years bloom is dying off (we think) and I havent had a free weekend since it started, and am glad to have my weekends back soon (I am going to stop sampling once the bloom ends).

However, I need to be on the lookout for places to sample next year, so if anyone has some property in the red river drainage, Can I sample your pond (if not this year then next year)? I look at nutrients, physical characters, and the zooplankton and algae community.

I just thought some of you might be interested, Let me know if you are. here are some links for some additional info.

http://faculty-staff.ou.edu/H/Karl.D.Hambright-1/GoldenAlgaePublic/golden_algae-public.html

http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/landwater/water/environconcerns/hab/ga/

BTW if you are ever looking to donate money to OU, we are always in need of $$$ to sponsor grad students like me and the summer school programs down here and are among the least funded of the OU peripherals so dont forget us (ok done panhandling)!!

[Chuck Bao]

Sure. Little Glasses creek runs through my sister's land just east of Madill. The other creeks are mostly just small pools of water unless it's raining heavily and I guess they all somehow feed into Lake Texoma. My family has 25-30 cattle ponds, but I don't suppose that's what you mean by ponds.

Can you explain it further? Say for example, 1TC's boat picks up algae in the water and spreads it to the next body of water his boat meets. Gee, I miss 1TC. And, if the algae gets into the tributaries, the problem of the bloom will continue to occur, is that right? Well, 1TC has never dipped his boat into anything related to me, or I would hope not.

You're doing stellar work there, fraggle. I will most definitely donate money to the OU biological station and the grad student studies when one of these oil people finally do their job and drill that oil well on my family's farm.

[Jerk]

Hey Frag...

Any chance that the Asian Carp will make its way to Oklahoma?

[Flagstaffsooner]

Go check out Lake Wister. It's downhill from Olevet's shack and there is something golden in there with a head on it.

[Fraggle145]

Sure. Little Glasses creek runs through my sister's land just east of Madill. The other creeks are mostly just small pools of water unless it's raining heavily and I guess they all somehow feed into Lake Texoma. My family has 25-30 cattle ponds, but I don't suppose that's what you mean by ponds.

Can you explain it further? Say for example, 1TC's boat picks up algae in the water and spreads it to the next body of water his boat meets. Gee, I miss 1TC. And, if the algae gets into the tributaries, the problem of the bloom will continue to occur, is that right? Well, 1TC has never dipped his boat into anything related to me, or I would hope not.

You're doing stellar work there, fraggle. I will most definitely donate money to the OU biological station and the grad student studies when one of these oil people finally do their job and drill that oil well on my family's farm.

I am sampling just about any type of lake/pond i can get my hands on. So farm ponds are great. Basically we arent sure what spreads the algae and what makes a lake susceptible to it if it is introduced. I am trying to figure out where it came from (Texas), and I think it is from the Wichita River system, but am not completely sure. I am looking at the other tributaries, lakes, and ponds to see how it can get further north etc, especially since the oklahoma lakes in the red river drainage run south to the red.

If 1tc put his boat in your pond after having it in Lebanon Pool without washing it with a bleach solution or letting it dry out in the sun for a few days then he would surely introduce the algae to your pond. Birds can carry it on their feet/feathers/crap, the wind can carry cells in dust, etc...

Whether or not it would bloom or even live in your lake in small numbers is a whole different thing. Blooming is basically when an algae species outcompetes other algal species for resources (one way or another). Blooms arent really supposed to be the norm. However, they have been thought to go on periodically throughout history (theoretically the first documented bloom was in the bible). Now however they are becoming more frequent as more nutrients are added to the different water bodies.

Basically we know that Golden Algae in Lake Texoma is there to stay. There is no way to completely get rid of all of it. It has a really odd mating/life cycle and it can create resting cysts that can stay dormant in the sediments for hundreds of years that would become live golden algae cells if it were ever resuspended. The only thing we can hope to do is make it not bloom. The best way to do this will probably be to control nutrients or the nutrient ratio, which is pretty difficult because of the inflow from the rivers etc...

[Fraggle145]

Hey Frag...

Any chance that the Asian Carp will make its way to Oklahoma?

I hope not. Those things are dangerous and would ruin a lot of economy that is based on fishing, but I am sure there is a good chance we would be susceptible since it seems to affect rivers in the Mississippi River drainage.

EDIT: Apparently they are already here in the Red River. Maybe they dont jump as much here. :confused: I'll look into it for ya....

[Frozen Sooner]

My tub.

[Fraggle145]

My tub.

Wouldnt mind heading up there to sample your "lake", but somehow i dont think ODWC will fund it. ;)

[Jerk]

I hope not. Those things are dangerous and would ruin a lot of economy that is based on fishing, but I am sure there is a good chance we would be susceptible since it seems to affect rivers in the Mississippi River drainage.

EDIT: Apparently they are already here in the Red River. Maybe they dont jump as much here. :confused: I'll look into it for ya....

The federal government could hire me as a full-time asian carp exterminator. I have put some thought into this and what I need is belt-fed duel 10 guages on a tri-pod near the bow of the boat loaded with steel #9 shot. :texan: I'd normally prefer lead but I don't want to hurt the environment.

[SicEmBaylor]

Sure. Little Glasses creek runs through my sister's land just east of Madill. The other creeks are mostly just small pools of water unless it's raining heavily and I guess they all somehow feed into Lake Texoma. My family has 25-30 cattle ponds, but I don't suppose that's what you mean by ponds.

Can you explain it further? Say for example, 1TC's boat picks up algae in the water and spreads it to the next body of water his boat meets. Gee, I miss 1TC. And, if the algae gets into the tributaries, the problem of the bloom will continue to occur, is that right? Well, 1TC has never dipped his boat into anything related to me, or I would hope not.

You're doing stellar work there, fraggle. I will most definitely donate money to the OU biological station and the grad student studies when one of these oil people finally do their job and drill that oil well on my family's farm.

Is this money that would otherwise be going to your alma mater? ;)
I think we need it more.

[Chuck Bao]

Is this money that would otherwise be going to your alma mater? ;)
I think we need it more.

The OU biological station on Lake Texoma isn't far from my family's farm. Since the whole Marshall Co. area is pretty dependent on tourism and recreational fishing, I seem to think that fraggle's work is very important. And, that's from a very selfish point of view.

Fraggle, surely there should be state or national funding for your research. Post more and I'll forward it to our congressmen.

[GottaHavePride]

In all seriousness, I have relatives all over Atoka county - if that's in your area let me know and I can pass it along.

[Fraggle145]

The OU biological station on Lake Texoma isn't far from my family's farm. Since the whole Marshall Co. area is pretty dependent on tourism and recreational fishing, I seem to think that fraggle's work is very important. And, that's from a very selfish point of view.

Fraggle, surely there should be state or national funding for your research. Post more and I'll forward it to our congressmen.

Oh it is really important, ODWC has given us (my lab group) a lot of money (I think the most of any group they fund as a unit) to figure out what is going on with the Golden Algae.

The biostation as a whole is what doesnt get as much money. I wish it would as most students get their upper division lab requirement through those classes. I mean there are always more improvements to existing facilities or creating new facilities that need to be done such as housing or artificial ponds, streams, for lab manipulations, and or scholarships/fellowships ofr undergrads and grad students alike.

[Fraggle145]

In all seriousness, I have relatives all over Atoka county - if that's in your area let me know and I can pass it along.

Dude it is all in my area, I think I am done for this year, but next year around this time I would like more places to sample. I have samples from the headwaters of the red river in the texas panhandle all the way to texarkana. Basically if it is in the drainage i want to sample it! :D

Thanks for the support!

[TUSooner]

My uncle lives in Wash!ta county, he knows lots folks out there with ponds. Lemme know if you want me to pass the word for you.