Are you interested in working with the Paerl Lab at UNC Institute of Marine Sciences?
We have a Research Technician position available! This position is temporary with the possibility of becoming permanent. We are seeking an enthusiastic individual with an interest in water quality research. Includes opportunities to conduct fieldwork across North Carolina and in other US locations!
Application deadline is 5/23/2023
Link to apply: https://unc.peopleadmin.com/postings/255583
Hi all,
Late winter has been unusually warm and water temperatures in the estuary are about 5 C warmer than normal. High salinity conditions are still in place with salinity near 20 at the estuary mouth. The tip of the salt wedge is still upstream of New Bern. No hypoxic bottom waters were observed. Super saturated oxygen conditions were observed near the surface at station 60 where high chlorophyll (>40 ug/L) indicated a bloom. The intense surface bloom at station 60 was part of a broad region with high (~25 ug/L) subsurface chlorophyll that stretched from station 50 to 120. Microscopic examination of station 60 surface water revealed a mix of the winter/spring bloom forming dinoflagellate, Prorocentrum minimum, and a Euglena sp. These are the same two species that were found blooming in the same area in February. Neither is thought to be problematic in regards to toxins and fish kills.
Best,
Nathan
The Delta Science Program would like to share that the 2022 edition of the State of Bay-Delta Science (SBDS) is now online in the latest issue of San Francisco Estuary and Watershed Science. Seven articles comprise the issue, summarizing the scientific understanding, or “the state of the science,” of plants and algae in the Bay-Delta. Individual articles explore important ecosystem services and disservices, including primary production, the ecology and management of aquatic vegetation, remote sensing methods, harmful algal blooms, and carbon sequestration and subsidence reversal.
Visit the SBDS website to learn more about this ongoing synthesis effort.
Interagency Ecological Program
IEP@wildlife.ca.gov | 2109 Arch Airport Road, Stockton, CA 95206
Join us in congratulating the Paerl Lab’s Ph.D. student, Haley Plaas on winning the UNC Graduate School’s 2023 Impact Award!
“This year’s Impact Award recipients are creating new knowledge in order to respond to our society’s greatest challenges,” said The Graduate School’s Dean Beth Mayer-Davis. “In a state where the workforce and intellectual ecosystem continues to advance, we need graduate student research to help us continue to prosper. It’s all part of how we serve our state.”
Haley’s research explores the potential threat harmful cyanobacterial blooms pose to human respiratory health and air quality and has accomplished just that. Check out more information on her website! Congratulations Haley!
The Paerl Lab’s Ph.D. student, Haley Plaas, and Dr. Paerl received an award for the Best Critical Review of the year in 2021 in Environmental Science & Technology for their article titled Toxic Cyanobacteria: A Growing Threat to Water and Air Quality! A link to their award and the article can be found below. Join us in congratulating Hans and Haley on this fantastic achievement!
This image was sent to us by Jim Cloern, showing his collection of Paerl Lab t-shirts from over the years! Thanks for sharing with us, Jim!
The Paerl Lab was back in the Bay Delta, CA last week! Hans Paerl, Leah Nelson, Alex Sabo, and Haley Plaas were working to continue Haley’s dissertation research which focuses on assessing the linkage between nutrient enrichment, phytoplankton community composition, cyanobacterial harmful algal bloom toxin production, and aerosol formation in the Sacramento-San Joaquin River/Bay Delta estuarine ecosystem. This research was accomplished by completing a combination of aerosol measurements and a nutrient addition bioassay experiment. For this trip, an additional nutrient was added to the bioassay: NH4 and NH4 + P! We will be sure to keep you updated as we analyze the data from these experiments.
Special thanks to all of our collaborators at CA-DWR, USGS, and Restore the Delta (and more)!
Meg McCartney Madison Milotte (they/them)
The Paerl Lab welcomes two Field Site students, Madison and Meg, from UNC main campus for the 2022 Fall Semester! These students will work on independent projects in order to learn more about coastal environmental microbiology. We are very excited to work with them this semester!
Hi all,
Prior to sampling on July 12, the Neuse basin had some substantial rain and river peaked on July 12 and 13 at about 4 times the seasonal average. On July 12, the main impact seen on the estuary was freshening of the upper estuary where low salinity water <5 extended downstream to stations 60 and 70. On the previous sampling on June 15, surface water salinity at these stations was ~10. High turbidity, 10 -15 NTU also resulted from the high flow. The estuary was stratified from New Bern to the mouth and bottom waters were hypoxic along that distance. As on June 15, there was a small subsurface maximum of chlorophyll a occurred along the pycnocline at stations 30 and 50. Microscopic examination of station 50 surface water showed the dominant organism was the same as on June 15, the dinoflagellate Levanderina fissa.
The high flows of mid July were short lived and there was hardly any rainfall in the basin in the 2 weeks prior to sampling on 3 August. Conditions on August 3 were nearly identical to those on June 15. Surface salinity at station 60 was about 10 and surface salinity at the mouth was greater 20. Bottom water salinity at the mouth exceeded 25. Stratification was strong upstream near New Bern and moderate in the mid and lower estuary. Hypoxic conditions (< 2 mg/L) occurred in the upper estuary from station 20 to 50. The only area of high chlorophyll was the subsurface patch of high biomass that has apparently persisted at stations 30 and 50 all summer. The sample was again dominated by the dinoflagellate Levanderina fissa but it also contained a diverse mix of diatoms, cryptophytes, chlorophytes, and other dinoflagellates. None of the mixed assemblage are known to be problematic with regard to toxins and fish kills.
I hope everyone enjoys the rest of the summer and stays cool.
Best regards,
Nathan
The Paerl Lab was in the Bay Delta, California last week to kick off Haley Plaas’ PhD thesis research, which focuses on assessing the linkage between nutrient enrichment, phytoplankton community composition, cyanobacterial harmful algal bloom toxin production, and aerosol formation in the Sacramento-San Joaquin River/Bay Delta estuarine ecosystem. Research Technician, Leah Nelson, accompanied Haley to California where they met up with Seyong, who is one of the Paerl Lab’s summer interns. The bioassay went off without a hitch! We saw surface scums of cyanos at both of our sample locations, Discovery Bay and Stockton. Upon filtering toward the end of the week it appeared as if the P and N+P treatments responded the most, suggesting P limitation at both sites. Early aerosol findings showed Microcystis and other cyanobacterial cells collected from the air. The data will tell us soon, so stay tuned! We want to thank our collaborators at CA-DWR, USGS, and Restore the Delta (and more)!
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