Cooperative Agreement to Conduct Collaborative Ecological Research
and National Synthesis of NAWQA Algal Data
 A
cooperative agreement between the U.S. Geological Survey, National
Water-Quality Assessment (NAWQA) Program and the Academy of Natural
Sciences, Patrick
Center for Environmental Research (PCER) was established in
1999 to conduct collaborative ecological research and national synthesis
of the NAWQA algal community and biovolume data. Much of this initial
cooperative agreement was spent developing taxonomic analysis and
quality assurance protocols, stabilizing algal taxonomy for approximately
6,000 samples collected throughout the United States, and developing
autecological data for algal taxa. However, several early research
questions focused on the evaluation of the water-quality information
provided by different algal sample types, the use of benthic diatoms
as indicators of conductivity and ionic composition, and the development
of diatom-based nutrient inference models for rivers in the eastern
United States. Publications of these research studies are forthcoming.
In 2003, a new agreement was established to continue this collaborative
research. A research priority during the first year of this new
agreement involves the modeling of algal community composition and
biomass in relation to environmental and landuse factors.
NAWQA algal samples are collected using standardized field protocols
from the surfaces of rocks and other natural substrates such as
woody snags, aquatic plants, and fine depositional sediments. Samples
are then preserved to a final concentration of 3-5% buffered formalin
and shipped to the PCER Phycology
Section laboratory in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. PCER scientists
and their sub-contracted laboratories analyze the algal samples
following standardized laboratory protocols developed by the PCER.
Subsamples of soft-algae (e.g., green, red, and blue-green algal
forms) and diatoms are analyzed for taxonomic identification, enumeration,
and biovolume. Algal taxa are thoroughly documented using state-of-the
art microscopes and digital imaging equipment. Processed sample
remnants and prepared microscope slides are archived in the PCER
herbarium for quality assurance purposes and future study by other
researchers. The diatom collection of this herbarium is the largest
collection of its kind in North America.
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