George S. Bullerjahn, Ph.D., Department of Biological Sciences, and Center for Photochemical Sciences

A current summer project in the Bullerjahn and McKay labs is aimed as assessing the potential for the remediation of Lake St. Mary's in Mercer County. The lake is currently plagued with blooms of the toxic cyanobacterium, Planktothrix, and this algal growth has led to a significant and persistent decline in water quality. The municipalities along the lakeshore are examining a number of strategies for reducing Planktothrix blooms, and one such strategy seeks to switch the algal community to less toxic species. Our plan is to amend large volumes of lake water in 2000 liter mesocosms with key nutrients to see whether diatoms can be stimulated to replace the cyanobacteria as the dominant species. The mesocosms will be located in Celina, OH, at the water plant adjacent to the lake. The SETGO student will be trained to maintain the mesocosms and sample them twice a week during the summer, processing water samples for nutrient and taxonomic analyses. The SETGO fellow will need to provide his/her own transportation most weeks, and mileage will be reimbursed.

bullerj@bgnet.bgsu.edu
(419)372-8527
516 Life Science Building

SETGO Summer Research