While we were excited to undertake this task, we first needed to determine the direction we wanted to take our idea. We spoke with professional experts and community members to pinpoint our approach to detection, incorporating their thoughts to create an innovative method to quantify microcystin toxicity. As we finalized our detection system, we started pursuing an effective remediation process. Using the feedback of legislators and researchers, we designed our degradation system to expand current legislative initiatives that address HABs. Throughout the entire process, our project integrated diverse perspectives to fabricate a comprehensive solution with people and the environment at its core. Here, we highlight the most impactful interviews that we conducted and how our conversations shaped the course of our project from napkin to prototype.
Noah Mark
As part of a preliminary exploration into our project this year, we met with intern Noah Mark at the Community Science Institute (CSI). The CSI is a nonprofit organization in the Ithaca area that is state-certified to monitor water quality. Noah Mark works on monitoring and testing water collected at different sites on Cayuga Lake. We spoke with him to learn more about the prevalence of harmful algal blooms in the Finger Lakes and what methods are currently being used to test their toxicity. He and his colleagues told us about ELISA (enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay), the method they currently use to test blooms on Cayuga Lake. An important takeaway from our meeting was that determining the toxicity of cyanobacterial blooms is both costly and time-consuming. Noah also suggested focusing on water treatment or toxin breakdown, rather than just algae clean-up. Meeting with Noah helped us assess which direction we wanted to pursue our project.
Dr. Nelson Hairston
Dr. Nelson Hairston is a professor at Cornell University researching freshwater organisms and their ecological and evolutionary response to environmental change. We conducted an interview with him to learn more about the causes and formation of algal blooms. He told us that a major part of formation is phosphorus, which comes from runoff and legacy sediment. Additionally, there is the phenomenon of thermal stratification, which leads to the build-up of phosphorus at the bottom of a lake. Professor Hairston went on to explain that continuous stratification mixes phosphorus into the rest of the lake, so it is more common for shallow lakes to have more blooms. Consequently, this is why the Finger Lakes region is more subject to HABs occurring. Our meeting with Professor Hairston gave us insight on bloom occurrence and build-up, and thus, we developed a stronger understanding as to why our region is especially affected.
Pat Crowley
We met with Pat Crowley, the Merrill Family Sailing Center
Manager to discuss his experience with algal blooms as someone who frequents
the lake. Conversing with him helped us gain perspective from someone who
may not know all of the science behind harmful algal blooms (HABs) but has
been affected by them. Pat told us that algal blooms impact people’s ability
to go into the water because the wait time between sampling the water and
obtaining positive lab results prevents water access until the bloom clears
up. In addition, there are health risks involved in being near contaminated
water. For example, humans may have adverse reactions by coming into contact
with the toxins produced by blooms. His comments inspired us to look further
into an effective detection and treatment method that would allow for faster
turnaround than existing methods.
When we asked him about the possibility
of building a boat to collect water samples, he advised us to consider the
size and mobility of our vehicle when navigating “nooks and crannies” on
a lake (e.g. a dock). His suggestion was later incorporated when we determined
the dimensions and materials of our boat.
The key takeaways from these responses are as follows:
- While a larger section of people (55%) answered that they either never or rarely noticed algal blooms in their local area, there was still a significant portion (27.5%) of people that did not know what algal blooms look like.
- Most people (60.8%) think it would be very or extremely difficult to distinguish between a harmful algal bloom and non-toxic algal bloom.
- 70.6% of people think HABs have an extreme or significant impact on local ecosystems, but only 17.7% think that HABs have the same impact on their own daily lives.
- 74.5% of people would be comfortable seeing an automated boat collecting water samples from local lakes.
Note: iGEM requires any form of human research to comply with established ethical standards, hence we consulted the website for Cornell’s Institutional Review Board. The website included a Decision Tree for determining whether organizations need to submit an application to the IRB prior to carrying out their research. Since our research primarily involved anonymous community surveys to gauge the public’s opinion and knowledge of harmful algal blooms, it was determined that it was not necessary to submit an application to the IRB.
Shady Amin
The interview with Shady Amin was conducted over Skype. One of the major talking points of the interview was the formation of harmful algal blooms (HABs). Generally speaking, it is known that having more nutrients in the water, specifically nitrogen and phosphorus, increases the likelihood that algal blooms will form. What is unknown, however, is how microcystins are formed. Professor Amin theorized that there must be some type of cell-to-cell communication between the cyanobacteria that stimulates the growth and formation of microcystin-forming bacteria. Professor Amin also mentioned that two of the major methods of testing for microcystins are HPLC and ELISA. ELISA is a much quicker process than HPLC and has very high throughput. A test using ELISA only takes about 2 hours. ELISA, however, is much less accurate and worse at determining the concentration of toxins compared to HPLC. HPLC takes a much longer time and is very expensive but is extremely accurate and provides information on the concentration of microcystins in the water. From our conversation with Professor Amin, we noted the importance of finding a solution that is more efficient and effective than current methods of detection.
Julie Lockhart
Julie Lockhart is the President of the Owasco Watershed Lake Association, which is a nonprofit organization dedicated to protecting Owasco Lake. Julie shared with us a lot of personal experiences with algal blooms and how it has been difficult to control and identify where the algal blooms would grow and which ones were harmful. One of the major complaints Julie had was the identification of HABs from normal algal blooms. When she collected a sample of algal bloom, CSI would obtain the sample but would have to send them off in order to test them for analysis. The method used is usually an ELISA which should not take a very long time to run an assay. The results she would receive, however, would take about 3 weeks to come in. At that point, the algal bloom is already cleared and the data is practically useless. This allowed us to see the need and importance for an instantaneous detection method, especially for differentiating between HABs and normal algal blooms.
Mark Wysocki
Mark Wysocki is a senior Lecturer at Cornell whose interests lie in Meteorology. In the event Nutrients in the Watershed, Unusual Weather, and Harmful Algal Blooms: A Public Conversation, he focused on the differences between climate and weather. He discussed the climate around Cayuga Lake and how it has changed over time. One of the major points Mark Wysocki talked about is how the changing climate contributed to earlier bloom seasons, longer bloom seasons, and a higher possibility of runoff to occur. With the rise in fluctuations in climate, nutrients also begin to fluctatte creating unpredictable patterns in things like algal blooms. In conclusion, Mark Wysocki analyzed the relationship between climate change in the Cayuga region and the rise in algal bloom appearances.
Stephen Penningroth
Stephen Penningroth spoke at an event sponsored by the Community Science Institute called Nutrients in the Watershed, Unusual Weather, and Harmful Algal Blooms: A Public Conversation at Aurora, New York. He presented the section called “Monitoring Phosphorus and Nitrogen in the Cayuga Lake Watershed” and discussed some of the volunteer monitoring partnerships that help oversee the Cayuga Watershed. Three to four times a year, a group will go out to collect samples on Fall Creek at six to seven different locations. The lab analyzes the samples for nutrients, bacteria, chloride, and mineral parameters. This volunteer system is very low-cost and overall works better than a consulting firm. However, the resolution of the data could be improved by a more continuous sampling method. His comments helped shape our project by steering us towards solutions that can provide higher resolution data.
David Erickson
Professor David Erickson’s area of expertise is in microfluidics and point-of-care diagnostics. When we initially reached out to Professor Erickson, we had been considering the use of microfluidics in our project to detect microcystins. However, our team was not very familiar with how microfluidics might fit into the scope of our project, so we sought Professor Erickson’s advice on which areas we should pay special attention to when designing our system. During the meeting, Professor Erickson brought up an important point about how water samples tend to be quite dilute so sample processing would need to be done before we could test the samples using a microfluidics chip. He also mentioned that when deciding on parts for our system, we need to consider what kind of information we are trying to obtain as well as whether there are any antibodies that are specific to what we are trying to detect. Although we ultimately decided not to pursue the route of microfluidics as the method of detection for our project, Professor Erickson’s suggestions pointed us in the right direction, and we eventually decided to use an RNA aptamer for detecting the presence of microcystins in our water samples.
Scott Van Gaasbeck
Our Policy & Practices team went down to the Ithaca Farmers Market on Saturday, June 22nd, to gauge the interest of local vendors in our project’s topic. One vendor we spoke to was Scott Van Gaasbeck, who runs Under the Tree Stoneware & Leather Goods. We briefly chatted with Scott before exchanging contact information so we could follow-up with more detailed questions about his experiences with harmful algal blooms (HABs). During our follow-up conversation, Scott confirmed that algal blooms can be seen on lakes or ponds in the area during most summers, but it’s difficult to distinguish between toxic and non-toxic blooms. He also mentioned that monitoring the toxicity levels of algal blooms would be a good idea given the risks they pose to human and animal health. When we brought up our team’s idea to have a small- to medium-sized boat traversing local lakes to collect water samples for detecting toxins, Scott expressed his support and suggested pairing our device with satellite technology for locating algal blooms. Scott’s feedback provided valuable insight into the thoughts and opinions of community stakeholders, which allowed us to ensure that our project aligns with the needs of those we aim to help.
Deborah Dawson
Deborah Dawson is a Tompkins County Legislator and the chair of the Planning, Energy and Environmental Quality committee. After attending the monthly meeting of the committee in July, we reached out to Mrs. Dawson to learn what initiatives they were pursuing to address HABs in the Finger Lakes region, and more specifically, Cayuga Lake. Mrs. Dawson explained to us how each Finger Lake had its own circumstances. Smaller lakes, such as Owasco Lake, are mostly contained within one county, whereas larger lakes are split between multiple counties. It’s easier to address HABs concerns in smaller lakes due to the fact that only a single county has to devote their resources to remediation and can prioritize their level of concern. With larger lakes, such as Cayuga Lake, which is divided between three counties, there must be an active collaboration initiative. This can be difficult to coordinate, as each county may have different priorities and concerns for lake health. However, Mrs. Dawson went on to reassure us that there were several community members in these counties that were actively working to address HABs. She was kind enough to introduce us and our project to these individuals, putting us in contact with an extensive network of community members committed to tackling the issue of HABs. These connections offered us direction and additional resources to tailor our product for implementation in the Cayuga Lake region.
HABs Committee
One of the contacts introduced to us by Deborah Dawson was Amanda Champion, District 12 Legislator on Tompkins County Board, who invited us to sit in on a meeting with several advocates for HABs remediation. Representatives from the Community Science Institute (CSI), other district legislators, and several other organizations, such as the Water Treatment Facility, were all present. During this meeting, we were able to engage in a discussion with other concerned community members about what sort of initiatives we should undertake to address the issue of HABs. Moreover, we were able to have a conversation about how reHAB would fit into the existing infrastructure that deals with HABs. CSI representatives offered us resources to help test the accuracy of our water sampling. Additionally, several legislators were interested in having us come present to a town board meeting to generate more interest in our project.
2. The Department of Ecology & Environmental Biology https://ecologyandevolution.cornell.edu/nelson-george-hairston
3. Cornell University School of Continuing Education and Summer Sessions https://www.sce.cornell.edu/cau/faculty/index.php?id=171
4. NYU Abu Dhabi https://nyuad.nyu.edu/en/academics/divisions/science/faculty/shady-amin.html
5. Owasco Watershed Lake Association https://www.facebook.com/saveowascolake/
6. Cornell Engineering Earth and Atmospheric Sciences https://www.eas.cornell.edu/faculty-directory/mark-wysocki
7. Cornell Research https://research.cornell.edu/researchers/david-erickson
8. VanGaasbeck, Scott. “Under the Tree Farm debuts Brooktondale farm stand with local apples.” The Ithaca Voice, October 2017. https://ithacavoice.com/2017/10/tree-farm-debuts-brooktondale-farm-stand-local-apples/
9. Tompkins County NY http://tompkinscountyny.gov/legislature/members-Dawson
10. “Election 2017: Q&A with District 12 Legislature Candidate Amanda Champion.” The Ithaca Voice, November 2017. https://ithacavoice.com/2017/11/election-2017-qa-district-12-legislature-candidate-amanda-champion/