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	Vol. 13, No. 3	Provided free of charge to our monitors and affiliates	Winter 2009

What is That “Green Cotton Candy” in the Lake?

Volunteer Experiences with Surveying Metaphyton

By Betsy & Dick Enright
Volunteers on Salmon Lake

Have you ever seen algae in the lake that looks like clouds or clumps of “green cotton candy”? In shallow shoreline waters, it forms in balls or long tubes along the bottom, or attached to pondweeds. Its color can vary from light to bright green or have a tinge of brown. If you try to pick it up, it slips right through your fingers and disperses. This filamentous algae breaks up easily with a strong wind or rain event and can be gone the next time you go back. It is called metaphyton, a group of algae that are usually localized and seem to bloom the most when summers are especially dry and warm.

More and more people have been noticing this growth in Maine lakes. We understand it occurs in very pristine northern waters as well, and is not necessarily an indication of nutrient loading. However, the VLMP Survey Project was developed to document the frequency and concentration of metapyhton in Maine lakes over a period of time. As part of this Survey Project my husband Dick and I have been observing metaphyton over the past three summers.

Volunteers participating in metaphyton monitoring surveys complete observations periodically through the summer, and record and submit their findings to the VLMP. We visit a cove in the littoral zone on our lake several times, and record how metaphyton changes, grows and moves during the season. We note the depth and surface temperature of the water, describe the color, size, shape and length of the metapyton and describe if it is scattered or in concentrated amounts.

Photo by Betsy & Dick Enright

Our observations include the time of day, weather conditions (clear/sunny/cloudy, etc), wind direction and speed. The best time to check for metaphyton is early morning (8-9am), on a sunny day, before the sun is high and causes reflection on the water. A calm day with no wind is also best, so ripples or waves do not affect visibility. A recent storm, with wind, heavy rain and runoff can impede observations due to reduced water clarity.

We started our surveying, with a very small 100-ft. by 100-ft. grid marked off in a chosen cove, and we quickly found that with changing conditions sometimes nothing was there! That was a little boring and impacted our motivation, especially when we could see metaphyton 6 feet outside of our grid. We then enlarged our area to include about 5 acres of the south end of this cove. We travel from east to west in 100 foot increments from the south shore. This takes more time, but we have learned a lot about this mysterious algae. We have refined our “observation techniques” over the years and learned from our mistakes. We did our first observations in kayaks, but soon changed to a boat for a higher and drier perspective. If you are good at multitasking, one person could do this task alone, but once you try to drive the boat in a straight line, find the algae, take photos and record the descriptive data, you’ll probably decide to have a friend along. We aim for bi-monthly observations, but weather, schedules and an occasional “sleeping in” can cause you to miss that perfect day on the water. We learned relatively fast that pads of paper or forms quickly became stacks of wet paper. Now we use our laptop in a pontoon boat, for quick organized recording of information. We use a digital camera that helps us keep track of the time and date, and we submit photos that match our observations.

We have chosen a shallow location in the littoral zone to survey over time. We survey our cove by decreasing our distance from the south shore in 100-ft. increments. The depths in this cove vary from 2-5.7 ft. We travel a grid east to west and repeat until we are about 50 ft. from shore…in very shallow water. We are careful to raise the prop and coast if there is any chance that we will stir up the sediments.

During the summer of 2008, we completed a total of five observations. In June, there was no metaphyton in any area of the cove. By July 4th, 100 ft. from shore we found a couple of patches of metapyhton, 1 x 2 ft., bright green in color and opaque; 50 ft. from shore there were clumps, light green in color, translucent, and 3-4 in. long. Due to a recent rain, the visibility was poor in the deeper sections of the cove, making the 200, 300 and 400 ft observations impossible.

On July 12th, as we moved along the transect 100 ft from the shore in 2.6 ft. of water, we observed metaphyton in 4-6 inch clumps, long and light green in color. On the west side the metaphyton clusters were bright green, 1-3 ft. long and 18 in. diameter. A ten-foot tube of bright green metaphyton was observed in 2.6 ft. of water, 200 ft. from shore. This tube lay on the bottom North to South.

Below is a sample of data in chart form for 7/30/08

Our last observation of the summer was on August 18th. The surface water temperature was down to 73 F. Interestingly, there was no metaphyton at all at the 400ft. track; at 300 and 200ft., there was no metapyhton in the east and center of the cove. However on the west side, we noted tubular growths in the lily pads 4x1 ft. at 300 ft., as well as irregular globs that measured 1x3 ft. in diameter, light green and completely opaque. At 200 ft. on the west, there were multiple tubular globs 8x3 ft., light green, as well as some dark green growths 2.8 ft. long, 6-8 in. wide. Our observation at 50 ft. from shore demonstrates how these filamentous algae connect with each other. At a depth of 2.1 ft. on the east we saw a “monster formation” with 4x6 ft. tubes growing out from a center irregularly. The longest section extended about 25 feet. (See Photo) The color was bright green and had a brownish tinge in one location. The rest of the shallow cove contained multiple connected and singular masses and circles, bright green to light green in color. It is interesting to note that despite the vast amount of metaphyton on this day, the surrounding water was very clear.

Photo by Betsy & Dick Enright

With coffee in hand and the quiet lake calling, we have found it amazing how this little ecosystem changes over the summer. Not only do we enjoy observing the metaphyton and helping to learn more about it, but we also observe the water quality change with temperature, wind, storms and runoff. We see the different varieties of pond weeds come in and grow, blocking out light. We watch the baby fish mature, the loons, eagles and osprey nest and fledge, and the circle of life completing itself every season. This is our reward.

More volunteers are needed for this project, because data from many individuals, on many lakes, for many years are needed in order to accurately characterize metaphyton growth in our lakes and ponds . If you are interested in surveying metaphyton on a Maine lake near you, please contact the VLMP at 207-783-7733 or vlmp@mainevlmp.org, or by mail to: VLMP, 24 Maple Hill Rd, Auburn, ME 04210.

 

Maine Volunteer Lake Monitoring Program

vlmp@mainevlmp.org
24 Maple Hill Road, Auburn, ME 04210
(207) 783-7733
www.MaineVolunteerLakeMonitors.org
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