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Biology bucket list: algal blooms

October 12, 2012 1Comment
An algal bloom appears off the Princess Astrid Coast in East Antarctica.
NASA image courtesy Jeff Schmaltz, LANCE/EOSDIS MODIS Rapid Response Team at NASA GSFC.
Greetings biophiles! What do algal blooms, great white sharks, and okapis all have in common? They’re all absolutely fascinating and they’re all on my list of events and animals I would jump at the chance to observe. This ever growing list of biology-related items has evolved into something of a bucket list, hence the title, and includes biological phenomena around the globe that I hope to one day see for myself!
So what ‘s first up on my biology bucket list? Algal blooms.
First some background: Algal blooms are basically just the growth of aquatic algae at a hyper fast pace, resulting in washes of discoloration over bodies of water. These artworks of nature generally occur due to favorable conditions such as availability of resources like minerals, nutrients, warmth, and sunlight. The algae, usually referred to as phytoplankton, are microscopic, single-celled organisms that make their home in the upper layers of both fresh and marine waters. They serve as vital components of aquatic ecosystems due to their powers of photosynthesis, as they provide food (directly or indirectly) for everything from penguins to blue whales.  Phytoplankton even feed you, as they are used as feed in aquaculture. We depend on these little guys!
However, I not only appreciate them for their hard work in the upkeep of our oceans, but also for their aesthetic value on both a microscopic and macroscopic level. If you do an image search of either “phytoplankton” or “diatoms” (go, click on it!), you’ll see that these guys come in all kinds of wacky shapes, sizes, and colors. Looking at them under a microscope (and I would love to take my own sample from an algal bloom) is pretty much like walking through an art gallery (except better) because the artwork is made out of living organisms just hangin’ out,  powering an entire ecosystem and being funky shaped. Ahhh, that is the life.
(Side note: lots of ordinary things look crazy awesome when looked at close up, sand for instance. Oh nature, your beauty reveals itself on so many levels. *swoon*)
Bits of sand made up of shell, coral, and volcanic rock bits.
Image Copyright © 2008 Dr. Gary Greenberg, All Rights Reserved.
How do I plan on experiencing an algal bloom you may ask? By swimming in one of course!* (Or looking at them from the International Space Station, as most algal blooms can be seen from space. NASA, if you want to make dreams come true, hit me up!)

And no, I’m not talking about taking a dive in the pond scum of the poorly-kept neighborhood pool. Instead, I hope to travel to what are known as bio-bays: bodies of water where bioluminescent phytoplankton, or more specifically dinoflagellates, light up the waters at night and create waves dotted with glowing spots to match the starry night sky. There are several locations around the world where tourists can experience the glowing waters- Puerto Rico, Vietnam, and the Maldives to name a few.

However, these kinds of trips cost money and, alas, I am a poor college student, so until I can save up to travel to Puerto Rico (or the ISS), I’ll continue looking at satellite photos (like the ones from NASA, linked below). Other types of algal blooms can occur in bodies of water around the world and vary depending on seasonal and causal factors.

Glowing blue waves on Vaadhoo Island in the Maldives.
Photograph by Doug Perrine, Alamy

I like to keep my eye out for new photos of algal blooms, such as this one, which displays Impressionist-esque swirls of green and yellow atop the waters off the Princess Astrid Coast in Antarctica, taken by NASA’s Terra Satellite this past February. Antarctic blooms generally occur in December (the start of summer for Antarctica) as the increased sunlight favors the growth of these photosynthesis superstars and kickstarts the rest of the marine ecosystem in time for baby-making season. This particular algal bloom’s late season appearance excited scientist to the possibility that it was caused by a more unusual factor: nutrients blowing off of a nearby ice shelf. This is just one example of how algal blooms can come about.

Year round you can find news of all types of algal blooms being spotted in different places around the world, so keep a lookout for this fascinating biological phenomena! If you would like to see more of their intoxicating beauty I would recommend perusing through Visible Earth, a catalog of photos from NASA, or checking out this gallery from Wired magazine, which will also tell you about regional types of algal blooms.

So, dear readers, what do you think? Would you go swimming in a bioluminescent ocean? I hope you’ll take a look through some of the galleries linked throughout (some of these photos make great wallpapers!), and of course I’d love to know what’s on your biology bucket list via the comments section below. (Also, keep a look out for our next installment of our biology bucket list series!)

*It should be noted that some algal blooms are harmful (HABs), and certain species, about 2% of the 5000+ species of marine phytoplankton, are associated with toxins and can actually harm an ecosystem through the release of neurotoxins and the depletion of oxygen in water. These HABs can arise naturally and in predictable patterns, but have also increased in frequency due to human activity like agricultural run-off. So please do not just go jumping into any old discolored water and be sure to look out for notifications from your local health and marine departments if you plan on participating in any recreational activities in or near your local lakes or beaches.
Here are the places I got my information from:
Diersing, Nancy. “Phytoplankton Blooms: The Basics.” (May 2009). Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary.
“Greening the Princess Astrid Coast.” (March 2012). Earth Observatory by NASA.
Landsberg J.H. “The effects of harmful algal blooms on aquatic organisms.”  (2002). Reviews in Fisheries Science.
Than, Ker. “Picture: Glowing Blue Waves Explained.” (March 2012). National Georgraphic.
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Destiny Cobb
About Author

Destiny is a 2nd year BME major/Bio minor at Georgia Tech and is a dancer, fencer, and Youtube/Tumblr junkie. Destiny spends most of her time being introvered, going to the Botanical Gardens, consuming absurd quantities of media whenever internet access is available, and reading loads about her varied interests (academic and otherwise), which include but are not limited to: neuroscience, genetics, astronomy, botany, tea, science fiction, and miming. She plans on pretty much living and working at universities for most of her future and looks forward to a career in research.

1 Comment

  • Brian J Martin
    Posted April 18, 2013 at 7:20 AM

    What time of the year. I would love to witness this

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  Timothy Durham was convicted of rape when a test showed his DNA genotype matched the DNA recovered from the crime scene. Eye witnesses testified that Durham was in a different state at the time of the incident, but he wasn’t exonerated from his 3000 year sentence until follow up DNA analysis showed that the preliminary forensic analysis used in the trial was misinterpreted (Thomas et al.). DNA testing serves an invaluable part in our criminal justice system, but it comes with complications and bias that can lead to wrongful convictions and misinformed juries.  

Background:

Forensic genetics aims to identify the origin of a biological sample. It can be traced back to Karl Landsteiner who discovered human ABO blood groups. With blood groups, suspects could be eliminated based on their blood type. For example, if a suspect had type A blood and there was type B blood left at the scene by the perpetrator, the investigators could rule out the suspect. Unfortunately, the reverse didn’t work. If the suspect and perpetrator both had the same blood type, it can’t be concluded that the suspect was guilty. Blood identifiers evolved into 8 distinct categories which improved the ability to eliminate suspects, but could only conclude that (if the system matched) it might be the perpetrator or this person might be related to the perpetrator (Jobling and Gill). The field evolved in the 1980s with the discovery of Minisatellites, lines of repetitive DNA that don’t encode proteins. Minisatellite patterns in DNA create what we know today as the DNA fingerprint, and it has a much higher accuracy rate than previous methods (Augustyn et al.). Around the same time, a breakthrough for victims of sexual assault was discovered. In the case of assault, bodily fluids of both the victim and the assaulter can get mixed. A process called differential lysis was created which could selectively increase the concentration of sperm in a fluid sample thereby allowing for accurate DNA testing (Jobling and Gill). Forensics evolved to use single-locus probe testing after several years because of its ease of interpretation. It looked at specific minisatellites that had high variability between subjects. This was the first DNA-based method to be used in a criminal investigation. Two murder homicides from several years apart were connected using DNA evidence. The evidence was then used to exonerate an innocent man, and the guilty party was found when he tried to evade mandatory DNA testing for all men in the small town. His guilt was then reinforced when the DNA profiles matched, and he gave a confession (Jobling and Gill). Finding DNA at a crime scene doesn’t guarantee that you’ll find a murderer. There are issues with non-pure samples and limited samples that make DNA work difficult, and accreditation of facilities and new techniques and take time (Jobling and Gill).  

Subjectivity of DNA Interpretation:

In a 2009 publication, the National Academy of Science discusses the possibility for subjective influence in lab based forensics. The interpretation bias happens in complex cases where, for example, there could be a mixture of DNA. A study published in 2011 looked specifically at this issue. A gang rape happened in Georgia, and the mixture in DNA from the case was used to prosecute one suspect after another suspect took a plea bargain to testify against him. With DNA mixtures, there are three possible conclusions: suspect excluded, suspect cannot be excluded, and inconclusive. If the suspect is excluded, it means that there’s little to no possibility that his DNA is part of the sample. If the suspect cannot be excluded, it means that there’s a possibility that his DNA is part of the sample. In the trial, the DNA examiners who knew the context of the case concluded that the suspect being prosecuted could not be excluded. The 2011 study gave the DNA evidence from this case and the DNA profiles of the suspects to 17 forensic examiners. These examiners had no context of the case, and they all worked independently. Of the 17, only 1 came to the same conclusion (suspect cannot be excluded) as the examiners who knew the context of the case. Twelve of the 17 concluded that the suspect who was prosecuted and convicted had no relation to the DNA found in the sample. Not only does this show that subjectivity occurs due to the context of the case, but the 17 examiners came up with different findings based on their past experiences meaning that not all DNA analysis is objective. Some organizations like the Scientific Working Group on DNA Analysis Methods say that quantitative statistical evidence should be presented with every categorical conclusion, but the US doesn’t require this (Dror and Hampikian).

False Positives:

There are two categories that cause wrongful identification in a DNA report: coincidental matches and false positives. Coincidental matches are DNA matches between two unrelated people. The probability of these matches is about 1 to 500,000 for white individuals and about 1 to 350,000 for black individuals. This small probability of coincidental matches makes people feel confident in DNA evidence. False positives, on the other hand, are matches between DNA and test DNA that result from issues in the forensics lab. There have been multiple cases of forensics labs accidentally switching victim and suspected rapist DNA which lead to convictions that were later overturned when the lab realized the error. There are also cases of misreading or misunderstanding a sample. In a case from 1993, a man was convicted of rape because someone interpreted a mixed sample of victim and perpetrator DNA as an individual sample. The conviction was again overturned. To prevent false convictions, retesting DNA is allowed, but it’s not an efficient solution. Many people are pushing for statistical information on the probability of false positives, so that the jurors can make accurate judgements based on DNA evidence (Thomas et al.).  

Conclusion:

DNA analysis is a useful tool for the criminal justice system, but subjectivity can be an issue in forensic testing. To combat wrongful convictions, there are organizations like The Innocence Project who use DNA testing to free the innocent, but reformed forensic testing standards should be put in place to prevent subjectivity and to ensure juries are correctly informed during trials. https://www.innocenceproject.org/    

Citation:

Augustyn , Adam, et al. “DNA Finerprinting.” Encyclopedia Britannica , 26 Apr. 2018, www.britannica.com/science/DNA-fingerprinting#ref153186. Dror, Itiel E., and Greg Hampikian. “Subjectivity and Bias in Forensic DNA Mixture Interpretation.” Science & Justice, vol. 51, no. 4, 2011, pp. 204–208., doi:10.1016/j.scijus.2011.08.004. Jobling, Mark A., and Peter Gill. “Encoded Evidence: DNA in Forensic Analysis.” Nature Reviews: Genetics, vol. 5, no. 10, Oct. 2004, pp. 739–751., doi:10.1038/nrg1455. Thompson, William C, et al. “How the Probability of a False Positive Affects the Value of DNA Evidence.” Journal of Forensic Sciences, vol. 48, no. 1, Jan. 2003, pp. 1–8., doi:10.1520/jfs2001171.