Role of benthic cyanobacteria in a recovering SAV system

One of the most dramatic SAV recoveries in Chesapeake Bay occurred in the tidal fresh Susquehanna Flats region, where SAV increased by nearly 50 square kilometers over just a few years in the early 2000s. Since then, a mysterious hair-like, stringy algae has also been persistently present at the Flats. The algae, which we believe belongs to the cyanobacteria genus, Lyngbya, carpets the bottom in the spring and floats to the surface in dense mats during the summer. We don’t know much about how Lyngbya is affecting SAV recovery or why it’s there in the first place. In this project, we are conducting field surveys, running lab experiments, and creating an ecological simulation model to determine where and how much Lyngbya is present at the Flats, what environmental factors control its growth, and how it interacts with the surrounding ecosystem. Although we have seen no indication that this Lyngbya is producing toxins, we are also testing for toxin productions because similar species elsewhere have been known to emit toxic compounds.

This project is funded by Maryland Sea Grant. The project lead is Judy O’Neil from Horn Point Laboratory and we are collaborating with Jeff Cornwell, also from HPL, and Cathy Wazniak, Amy Hamilton, and Brooke Landry from Maryland Department of Natural Resources.