The Microbial Ecology of the Lake Erie Ecosystem

N.E. Ostrom -  Michigan State University, East Lansing MI

G.S. Bullerjahn– Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green OH

H.J. Carrick - Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 

Primary production and phytoplankton

C.J. Gobler - Stony Brook, MSRC, Stony Brook NY

E.R. Zinser - The University of Tennessee, Knoxville TN 

PROTOCOLS USED BY 

MELEE RESEARCHERS

A collection of the standard  protocols used 

THE LAKE ERIE DEAD ZONE

In recent studies members of our group have been focusing on the region of seasonal hypoxia that forms in the central basin of Lake Erie each summer.  Commencing sometime in late July, oxygen consumption levels by microbial activity outpace oxygen production and diffusion into the hypolimnion, creating what the popular press has termed a "dead zone".  Although a bit of a misnomer (since in reality it is the high biological activity that consumes the oxygen) this annual event has drawn significant interest from researchers throughout North America as well as from lake management.

The above data represents results from an ongoing analysis of oxygen and temperature profiles for data collect between April 15th  and August 26th, 2004. Data was collected in the central basin (EC Station 84) of Lake Erie and are presented with respect to Julian day. Results are a function of 13 independent profiles collected across this time frame.

Recent MELEE Publications

Dean AL, JL Higgins, JM DeBruyn, JM Rinta-Kanto, RA Bourbonniere and SW Wilhelm. 2006. The dynamics, distribution and activity of viruses in Lake Erie. Aquatic Ecosystem Health Management – in press.

Rinta-Kanto JM and SW Wilhelm. 2006. Diversity of microcystin-producing cyanobacteria in spatially isolated regions of Lake Erie. Applied and Environmental Microbiology 72: 5083 - 5085.

Wilhelm SW, MJ Carberry, ML Eldridge, L Poorvin, MA Saxton and MA Doblin. 2006. Marine and freshwater cyanophages in a Laurentian Great Lake: evidence from infectivity assays and molecular analyses of g20 genes. Applied and Environmental Microbiology 72: 4957 - 4963. 

Gouvêa SP, C Melendez, MJ Carberry, GS. Bullerjahn, TA Langen, SW Wilhelm, and MR Twiss. 2006. Phosphorus bioavailability and plankton distributions in Lake Ontario in the aftermath of Hurricane Isabel, September 2003. The Journal of Great Lakes Research – in press.

Wilhelm SW, GS Bullerjahn, ML Eldridge, JM Rinta-Kanto, and RA Bourbonniere. 2006. Seasonal hypoxia and the genetic diversity of prokaryote populations in the central basin hypolimnion of Lake Erie : evidence for abundant cyanobacteria and photosynthesis. The Journal of Great Lakes Research - in press. 

Porta D, GS Bullerjahn, MR Twiss, SW Wilhelm, L Poorvin, and RML McKay. 2005. Determination of bioavailable Fe in Lake Erie using a luminescent cyanobacterial bioreporters. The Journal of Great Lakes Research 31 (S2): 180-194 

Twiss MR, SP Gouvêa, RA Bourbonniere, RML McKay, and SW Wilhelm. 2005. Field investigations of trace metal effects on Lake Erie phytoplankton productivity. The Journal of Great Lakes Research 31 (S2): 168 - 179 

Rinta-Kanto JM, AJA Ouellette, MR Twiss, GL Boyer, T Bridgeman, and SW Wilhelm. 2005. Quantification of toxic Microcystis spp. during the 2003 and 2004 blooms in Western Lake Erie using quantitative real-time PCR. Environmental Science and Technology 39:4198 - 4205.

Ostrom N.E. , H. J. Carrick, M. R. Twiss, and L. Piwinski. 2004. Evaluation of primary production in Lake Erie by multiple proxies. Oecologia 144115-124.

McKay RML, GS Bullerjahn, D Porta, ET Brown, RM Sherrell, T Smutka, R Sterner, MR Twiss and SW Wilhelm. 2004. Consideration of Trace Metal - Iron Bioavailability in the Great Lakes. 2004. Aquatic Health Ecosystem Management  7:475 - 490

DeBruyn JM, JA Leigh-Bell, RML McKay, RA Bourbonniere, and SW Wilhelm. 2004. Microbial distributions and the impact of phosphorus loading on bacterial activity in Lake Erie. The Journal of Great Lakes Research 30:166-183

Mioni CE, AM Howard, JM DeBruyn, NG Bright, MR Twiss, BM Applegate and SW Wilhelm. 2003. Characterization and field trials of a bioluminescent bacterial reporter of iron bioavailability. Marine Chemistry 83: 31-46.

Wilhelm SW, JM DeBruyn, O Gillor, MR Twiss, K Livingston, RA Bourbonniere, L Pickell, CG Trick, AL Dean, and RML McKay. 2003. A multi-level approach to determine the effect of phosphorus loading on present day plankton communities in pelagic Lake Erie. Aquatic Microbial Ecology 32: 275-285.

Ouellette AJA and SW Wilhelm. 2003. Toxic cyanobacteria: the evolving molecular toolbox.  Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment 7: 359 - 366

Porta D, GS Bullerjahn, KA Durham, SW Wilhelm, MR Twiss  and RML McKay. 2003. Physiological characterization of a Synechococcus sp. strain PCC 7942 iron-dependent bioreporter. Journal of Phycology 39:64-73

Related papers of interest to limnologists

Twiss MR, TA Langen, GS Bullerjahn, SW Wilhelm and DC Rockwell.  2005. Design and analysis of a Lake Ontario Great Lakes Science Practicum. The Journal of Great Lakes Research 31:236-242.

Langen, TA, MR Twiss, GS Bullerjahn and SW Wilhelm.  2005. Pelagic bird survey on Lake Ontario following Hurricane Isabel, September 2003: observations and remarks of methodology. Journal of Great Lakes Research 31:219-226.