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7 Lakes Alliance, Belgrade Lakes
Feb 03, 2025, 5:00 PM – 6:30 PM
7 Lakes Alliance, 137 Main St, Belgrade Lakes, ME 04918, USA
In these two presentations, the 7 Lakes Alliance lake science team will share their research conducted on lakes outside the watershed. These presentations will be held in person at the 7 Lakes Alliance building (registration required) and on Zoom (Zoom links below).
5:00 PM - Modeling the impact of changing water clarity on lake stratification by Dr. Danielle Wain, Lake Science Director at 7 Lakes Alliance
Water clarity plays an integral role in how lakes stratify, with impacts on parameters like the depth of the thermocline and length of the stratification season. To understand how different lakes respond to changes in water clarity, which may result from increased runoff or algal growth, we modeled 50 lakes across Maine (including Great Pond and Long Pond) to understand how sensitive different types of lakes are to these changes.
5:45 PM - The influence of dissolved organic carbon on algae community and distribution in Maine lakes by Matt Farragher, Lake Scientist at 7 Lakes Alliance
Dissolved organic carbon (DOC) plays an important role in lakes by influencing light, temperature, and nutrients, which in turn shapes the availability of habitat for phytoplankton. DOC concentrations increased for several decades in many northeastern lakes, resulting in the "browning" of water and an accompanying shift in the physical, chemical, and biological conditions of those lakes. This study compares phytoplankton communities across a gradient of DOC concentrations in lakes of Acadia National Park over one year, from under the ice through autumn turnover.
Register for the in person meeting here or join the Zoom meeting here (meeting ID: 895 8716 36).
February 10, 2025, 5:00 PM
7 Lakes Alliance, 137 Main St, Belgrade Lakes, ME 04918, USA
Using eDNA tools to identify and quantify the phytoplankton taxa of a unique algae bloom
Sharon Mann, Invasive Aquatics Director at 7 Lakes Alliance and PhD Candidate
Sharon Mann, 7 Lakes Alliance Invasive Aquatics Director, will present on some of her PhD research while in the Maine-eDNA program, a multi institutional research initiative to develop molecular tools for coastal management funded by National Science Foundation. This presentation will be held in person at the 7 Lakes Alliance building in Belgrade, and available on Zoom (Zoom info below). The presentation will take approximately 30 minutes and will be followed by a Q&A period.
Environmental DNA (eDNA) is organismal DNA (e.g. from hair, skin, feces) that can be found in the environment (water, soil, air, etc.). Scientists use eDNA to recreate whole communities in a process called “metabarcoding” and target specific species of concern using “qPCR.” Such methodology is important for the early detection of invasive species as well as the detection of rare and cryptic species. From 2018-2022, Highland Lake, Cumberland County ME, suffered from recurring algae blooms. The typical types of algae associated with lake-wide algae blooms in Maine were absent, however, small unidentifiable < 20 um cells were present. Small algae is incredibly difficult to identify using microscopy alone, thus, we used eDNA tools to identify and quantify the blooming algae species in Highland Lake. Using both metabarcoding and qPCR eDNA methods we revealed a rare and cryptic green algae as the blooming species. This study provides an example of how eDNA tools can be used for lake managers.
Register for the in person meeting here or join the Zoom meeting here (meeting ID: 821 8914 7963)
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