Investigation of Temporospatial Water Quality and Algae-Bacteria Interactions in Keyport, NJ
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Grant: Students Partnering with Faculty (SpF)
Chelsea Oti
CoPIs:
Benjamin Aharoni, Derek Melendez, Spencer Thompson
College:
The Dorothy and George Hennings College of Science, Mathematics, and Technology
Major:
Environmental Sciences
Faculty Research Advisor(s):
Shuting Liu
Abstract:
Urban development has caused an overload of inorganic nutrients in coastal areas in New Jersey. This nutrient overload has caused a shift in water quality from moderately eutrophic to intensely eutrophic. As a result, there are seasonal algal bloom events, which produce large amounts of dissolved organic carbon in which bacteria metabolize and regenerate nutrients that further feed algae. Algal bloom events may degrade water quality and pose a risk to public health in the area when certain harmful algae release toxins. The goal of this ongoing project is to assess the temporal-spatial shifts in water quality concurrent with algal growth and how this influences the carbon cycling and interactions between algae and bacteria in Keyport, New Jersey. Keyport Harbor is an underrepresented community and there is a lack of coastal data about Keyport Harbor. This makes Keyport Harbor a model field site to investigate. For the scope of this project, we focused on 4 different sites under various anthropogenic influences (from fishing piers to industrial production to riverine input). At each sampling site data was collected to study inorganic nutrients (phosphorus, nitrate-nitrite, and ammonium), dissolved organic carbon (DOC), chlorophyll-a, and bacteria biomass over seasonal cycles. In correspondence to the increased temperature and decreased dissolved oxygen, chlorophyll-a concentrations peaked in late spring to summer, indicating the growth of algae biomass in this period. The increase in chlorophyll concentrations was also correlated with the decrease of inorganic nitrogen concentrations in Keyport surface water, suggesting nitrogen acted as a limiting factor for algae growth in Keyport. Higher DOC concentrations and bacterial biomass were observed during the algal bloom time, suggesting a bacterial response to fresh produced algal-DOM in the water. During this project, algae-bacteria interactions were also assessed through an in-lab microbial remineralization incubation study monitoring changes in DOC concentration together with bacterial abundance over time. More bacterial growth and DOC removal percentages were observed during the bloom period than the non-bloom period, explaining the higher bacterial biomass of the field data in the bloom period. By monitoring water quality through both chemical and biological indicators we aim to access both natural and anthropogenic impacts on algae-bacteria and carbon cycling dynamics in New Jersey’s coastal environment to help improve future coastal management in Keyport, New Jersey.