Benchtop Fluorometry of Phycocyanin as a Rapid Approach for Estimating Cyanobacterial Biovolume

Parameters: Cyanobacteria

Turner Designs’ Trilogy Fluorometer can efficiently and accurately quantify cyanobacterial biovolume, which has long been considered a major problem for water resource managers plagued with harmful algal blooms. Using a simple extraction process, cyanobacterial abundance can be dependably estimated from measurements of the pigment, phycocyanin, the same day as sample collection. In this way rapid responses to potential water quality threats posed by cyanobacteria are possible. A link to the abstract can be found here http://plankt.oxfordjournals.org/content/37/1/248.abstract Alan Wilson - Program Director at the National Science Foundation & Associate Professor in the School of Fisheries at Auburn University – http://www.wilsonlab.com

Photo of an algal bloom in an aquaculture pond provided by Alan Wilson.

Authors: Alan Wilson

Institution: National Science Foundation & School of Fisheries at Auburn University