Ground-based remote sensing provides alternative to satellites for monitoring cyanobacteria in small lakes.

Cyanobacteria are the most prevalent bloom-forming harmful algae in freshwater systems around the world. Adequate sampling of affected systems is limited spatially, temporally, and fiscally. Remote sensing using space- or ground-based systems in large water bodies at spatial and temporal scales that are cost-prohibitive to standard water quality monitoring has proven to be useful in detecting and quantifying cyanobacterial harmful algal blooms. This study aimed to identify a regional 'universal' multispectral reflectance model that could be used for rapid, remote detection and quantification of cyanoHABs in small- to medium-sized productive reservoirs, such as those typical of Oklahoma, USA. We aimed to include these small waterbodies in our study as they are typically overlooked in larger, continental wide studies, yet are widely distributed and used for recreation and drinking water supply. We used Landsat satellite reflectance and in-situ pigment data spanning 16 years from 38 reservoirs in Oklahoma to construct empirical linear models for predicting concentrations of chlorophyll-a and phycocyanin, two key algal pigments commonly used for assessing total and cyanobacterial algal abundances, respectively. We also used ground-based hyperspectral reflectance and in-situ pigment data from seven reservoirs across five years in Oklahoma to build multispectral models predicting algal pigments from newly defined reflectance bands. Our Oklahoma-derived Landsat- and ground-based models outperformed established reflectance-pigment models on Oklahoma reservoirs. Importantly, our results demonstrate that ground-based multispectral models were far superior to Landsat-based models and the Cyanobacteria Index (CI) for detecting cyanoHABs in highly productive, small- to mid-sized reservoirs in Oklahoma, providing a valuable tool for water management and public health. While satellite-based remote sensing approaches have proven effective for relatively large systems, our novel results indicate that ground-based remote sensing may offer better cyanoHAB monitoring for small or highly dendritic turbid lakes, such as those throughout the southern Great Plains, and thus prove beneficial to efforts aimed at minimizing public health risks associated with cyanoHABs in supply and recreational waters.

Microcystis pangenome reveals cryptic diversity within and across morphospecies.

Microcystis, a common harmful algal bloom (HAB) taxon, threatens water supplies and human health, yet species delimitation is contentious in this taxon, leading to challenges in research and management of this threat. Historical and common morphology-based classifications recognize multiple morphospecies, most with variable and diverse ecologies, while DNA sequence-based classifications indicate a single species with multiple ecotypes. To better delimit Microcystis species, we conducted a pangenome analysis of 122 genomes. Core- and non-core gene phylogenetic analyses placed 113 genomes into 23 monophyletic clusters containing at least two genomes. Overall, genome-related indices revealed that Microcystis contains at least 16 putative genospecies. Fifteen genospecies included at least one Microcystis aeruginosa morphospecies, and 10 genospecies included two or more morphospecies. This classification system will enable consistent taxonomic identification of Microcystis and thereby aid in resolving some of the complexities and controversies that have long characterized eco-evolutionary research and management of this important HAB taxon.

The niche of an invasive marine microbe in a subtropical freshwater impoundment.

Growing attention in aquatic ecology is focusing on biogeographic patterns in microorganisms and whether these potential patterns can be explained within the framework of general ecology. The long-standing microbiologist's credo 'Everything is everywhere, but, the environment selects' suggests that dispersal is not limiting for microbes, but that the environment is the primary determining factor in microbial community composition. Advances in molecular techniques have provided new evidence that biogeographic patterns exist in microbes and that dispersal limitation may actually have an important role, yet more recent study using extremely deep sequencing predicts that indeed everything is everywhere. Using a long-term field study of the 'invasive' marine haptophyte Prymnesium parvum, we characterize the environmental niche of P. parvum in a subtropical impoundment in the southern United States. Our analysis contributes to a growing body of evidence that indicates a primary role for environmental conditions, but not dispersal, in the lake-wide abundances and seasonal bloom patterns in this globally important microbe.