Gloeotrichia (GLEE-o-TRICK-ee-ah)
Fuzzy Balls in Panther Pond
Did you see all those fuzzy balls in Panther Pond last summer? Those fuzzy balls are called Gloeotrichia echinulata. They may have been in Panther for a long time, but have only been present in large enough numbers to be seen in Panther Pond for the past 10-20 years or so. Last summer they were found in such large numbers that it should really be considered a bloom. Although Gloeotrichia has been seen in moderately eutrophic to eutrophic lakes for a long time, the latest research indicates that they have only been showing up in clear lakes in the Northeast U.S. for the past 30 years. (Carey et al., 2008; Carey et al., 2009).
Why are they showing up now?
Hypothetically speaking, since it’s unlikely that environmental conditions are so different now than they have been in the past, the most likely reason that they were not seen before is that they were not present in the lake and may have been recently transported from another lake.
What does it mean for the future water quality of Panther Pond?
Gloeotrichia are unlike most other algae that are found in lakes in that they don’t get their nutrient from the water column, but instead get the nutrient that they need from the bottom sediments. They have a rather complex life cycle. This could have serious implications for water quality. The normal sources of nutrients, especially phosphorus is from surface water runoff or from internal recycling of phosphorus from the bottom sediment under anoxic (no oxygen) conditions. Gloeotrichia, like algae, need sunlight and warm water to proliferate. Last summer was very sunny and warm and was likely the immediate cause of the bloom. Research is presently being conducted to determine if Gloeotrichia will transport phosphorus from the bottom sediments to add another source of phosphorus to contribute to algae production.
- Phil Boissonneault, April 2011
Current Research
Panther Ponders have been invited to participate in a research project on gloeotrichia, being conducted by scientists at Dartmouth and Bates colleges. Details of the project are uncertain at this point, but we'll post more information here when it's available.
Additional information
http://www.lakesunapee.org/templates/science.html Near the bottom of the page you'll find a link to more information about the gloeotrichia study. (This page also contains links to some other interesting topics, such as "how lakes freeze" and "freshwater jellyfish.")
http://www.bates.edu/ewing-environmental.xml