Why does PMN exist?
Phytoplankton, specifically some species of diatoms and dinoflagellates, can cause animal and human illness, including death. This network monitors our coastal bay waters for blooms of hazardous species, allowing the public to be warned before it gets through our food supplies and into us. Secondarily, the project contributes to understanding the planktons that inhabit our ecosystems and the environmental factors that drive blooms.
Before Master Naturalists began monitoring phytoplankton along the Texas Gulf Coast in 2007, little was known about our local populations. We have always known Red Tide, or Karenia brevis, is in our waters. In the past this species has killed many fish in our bays. Over the last couple of years we have discovered another hazardous species inhabits and blooms in our Texas waters. We are now beginning to understand this genus, Pseudo-nitzschia. It?s our Texas Master Naturalists that made this possible.
What does a PMN volunteer do?
The short answer is scientific research and early warning monitoring
for public health.
Every other week or every week if you have the desire, you pick up the monitoring equipment from Sea Center Texas and take a plankton net out to a spot you have chosen to monitor routinely (you may choose to monitor multiple sites). This is not one of those large nets that are towed behind a boat. Our net is a hand net about 8 inches in diameter and about 2 feet long. You tow this by hand at a walking speed for 3 minutes. You can do this from a dock, bank or even walking in the water. In addition the netted sample, you also collect an unfiltered water sample in a larger bottle. This larger water sample is necessary for NOAA to measure toxin levels if you discover a blooming toxic species. While at the site, you record air temperature, water temperature, wind direction, wind speed and sky conditions.
Returning to Sea Center Texas, you measure and record the salinity of the sample. You then prepare a wet slide of your netted sample. This slide has an 8x8 grid that will help you count the phytoplankton. You place the slide in a microscope and record the species observed and their abundance. This ID and counting will probably take you a hour or more the first couple of times as you learn the species. You will quickly improve to around half an hour. When finished, you clean the equipment for next time.
The final act is to sign into the PMN data entry site and enter what you found. You may also use the database to see what is happening at other sites from Maine to Alaska.
If you discover high numbers of some target species, you must Fed-Ex your netted and live samples overnight to the PMN lab. This is easy to do and is pre-paid.
Is this an approved TMN-COT project?
Yes, the COT Board of Directors approved this as a volunteer project in
2007. You may count the training as AT and the volunteer/travel time
for certification and beyond.
What training is available?
If several people are interested, we will have a training session
Monday morning, August 10. It will most likely be at Sea Center Texas. This will be enough to get
you started. The first few times you sample and count, one of our
current project members will gladly accompany you and answer questions.
If you can?t make the 10th, we?ll arrange individual training.
Additional help is available on the PMN website.
How may I learn more?
The Phytoplankton Monitoring Network has much more information
available on its web site at http://www.chbr.noaa.gov/pmn/. I
encourage you to look browse this site. You may also contact our COT
PMN project leader.
How do I become involved?
Contact the project leader:
Dave Brandes
President, Texas Master Naturalists, Cradle of Texas Chapter
979-265-3813
djbrandes@comcast.net
Posted 06/11/2009