Toni Stanzione wrote:

> This might be of interest to some:
>
> http://www.adn.com/news/alaska/story/867160.html
>
> I wonder why such a large flush of algae would occur.
>
> Toni

The Reef Rescue work on blooms of Lyngbya, also a filamentous algae,
showed that blooms exploded at critical levels of certain nutrients from
specific sewer outfalls, then vanished when nutrients dropped only
slightly below those critical levels. It's quite a sight to see miles of
clear reef one week, a blanket of red cotton candy the next, and clear
(but heavily damaged) reef two weeks later. See
http://www.reef-rescue.org/PDFreports.shtml

These findings were used to close down one ocean outfall and get
legislation passed that will eventually close down the remaining five
outfalls in SE Florida.

There's a common Codium sp. that also explodes when temperatures hit
81-82 degrees and disappears quickly when the temp falls below.

There's a name for populations that come and go with a "trigger", but
I've forgotten it.

m

----------------------------------------------------------------------
[log in to unmask] - a forum for informal discussions on molluscs
To leave this list, click on the following web link:
http://listserv.uga.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=conch-l&A=1
Type your email address and name in the appropriate box and
click leave the list.
----------------------------------------------------------------------