ENVIRONMENTAL MONITORING WHAT, WHY, HOW

Ray RaLonde University of Alaska Alaska Sea Grant Marine Advisory Program

October 27, 2011 WHAT

• Temperature – Air, surface, water column • Temperature logging – six times per day • Salinity – Surface, water column • Clarity – visual depth • Weather conditions – Local or on-line • Phytoplankton – food quality • Zooplankton – fouling organisms WHY TEMPERATURE? • Assessing water circulation and productivity • Estimating growout time • Estimate seasonal growing conditions • Effects of overwinter temperature stress • Use with year to year comparisons of growth • Reproductive development and maturation • Prevention of Vibrio parahaemolyticus • Detections of anomalous conditions • Site selection

ESTUARY CLASSIFICATION

• Common in coastal Freshwater Alaska Saltwater • More saline deeper Bottom water with a freshwater Stratified “lens” • Transform from stratified to totally mixed Freshwater

Bottom

Total mixed “turnover” TEMPERATURE PROFILE OF AN ESTUARY

Temperature in o C

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 0

2

4 Epilimnion 6 8 Thermocline 10 12 Hypolimnion

14 Depth in Meters in Depth 16 18 20 SEASONAL CHANGES IN TEMPERATURE PROFILE

Temperature in o C 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 29 20 21

Winter Summer Spring GROWOUT TIME 30.00 SEASONAL 25.00 20.00 GROWING

15.00 Degrees C Degrees 10.00 CONDITIONS

5.00

0.00 Pristine Products

1/1/04

6/19/03 7/17/03 8/14/03 9/11/03 10/9/03 11/6/03 12/4/03 1/29/04 2/26/04 3/25/04 4/22/04 5/20/04 6/17/04 7/15/04 8/12/04 Date 1600

1400

Average Daily Temperature 1200 2003 1000 2004

800

600

400

200 Cummulative temperatures Cummulative

0

7/3/04 8/7/04 9/4/04

6/19/04 6/26/04 7/10/04 7/17/04 7/24/04 7/31/04 8/14/04 8/21/04 8/28/04 Date

Cumulative Temperatures WALLY NOERENBERG HATCHERY Surface Seawater Temperatures

18.0 JUNE JULY 17.0

16.0

15.0

14.0 Degrees C Degrees 13.0 2004 2003 12.0 2002 2001 11.0 1999

10.0

1-Jul 3-Jul 5-Jul 7-Jul 9-Jul

11-Jul 13-Jul 15-Jul 17-Jul 19-Jul 21-Jul 23-Jul 25-Jul 27-Jul 29-Jul 31-Jul

2-Aug 4-Aug 6-Aug 8-Aug

10-Aug 12-Aug 14-Aug 16-Aug 18-Aug 20-Aug 22-Aug 24-Aug 26-Aug 28-Aug 30-Aug Date WAS THE SUMMER OF 2004 WARMER? Prince William Sound

20.0 18.0 16.0 14.0 12.0 10.0 8.0 2004 Degrees C 6.0 2003 4.0 2000 2.0 1997 0.0 June July August September Months WINDY BAY WATER TEMPERATURES 2003-04

30.0

AUGUST

25.0 JULY

20.0

15.0 Degree C Degree

10.0 2003 2004

5.0

0.0

1-Jul 3-Jul 5-Jul 7-Jul 9-Jul

2-Aug 4-Aug 6-Aug 8-Aug

11-Jul 13-Jul 15-Jul 17-Jul 19-Jul 21-Jul 23-Jul 25-Jul 27-Jul 29-Jul 31-Jul

10-Aug 12-Aug 14-Aug 16-Aug 18-Aug 20-Aug 22-Aug 24-Aug 26-Aug 28-Aug 30-Aug Date TIDAL, TIME, FRESHWATER INFLUENCES

Annette Island

Cordova

One day THE IMPORTANCE OF TEMPERATURE Spawny oyster • Regulates estuary productivity • Indicates vertical water circulation • Impacts growth of shellfish – S.E. 12-24 months Spawn free – Kachemak Bay 24 months or more D = (td-to) • Causes spawniness in oysters • Impact safety of the shellfish D = Total accumulated T.U. needed to spawn. Pacific oysters = 592 for consumer spawn at D = 592) – Vibrio parahaemolyticus (Vp) illness td = Daily temperature occurs at temperatures above 15oC o to = Pacific oysters 10.55 C. – Preventable by lowering shellfish to deeper cooler water if available Simpson Bay: D = 429 (72%) Kachemak Bay: D = 158 (27%) Pearl of Alaska: D =162 (27%) Sea Otter Sound: D = 225 (38%)

SEAWATER TEMPERATURES Prince William Sound 2004

739 TU 11.9 Mean

1046 TU 902TU 16.9 Mean 14.6 Mean

963 TU 15.5 Mean

933 TU 15.1 Mean WATER COLLECTION To surface Collection Bottles • Van Dorn Bottle • Walden Bottle

TEMPERATURE RECORDERS

Thermometers • Nothing replaces a good thermometer – Accuracy ± 0.1o • Max/Min – Always handy • Electronic recording – Calibrate TEMPERATURE RECORDERS

Electronic thermometers Suppliers Radio shack, Hannah, Aquatic Ecosystems • Waterproof • Record Max/Min • Extension cords for outside • Cost $15.00-60.00 • Accuracy 1oC • Calibrate with thermometer

TEMPERATURE RECORDERS

Temperature data loggers • Hanna • Hobo logger – Set timing period (sec-days) • Set for every 6 hours • Deploy at top of lantern net to account for tide and solar influences – 21,580 measurements – Accuracy 0.02o – Logger cost $110.00 each – Infrared base station $60.00 • Boxcar Pro for Readout – One-timer purchase $95.00 – Export data to Excel HOBO DATA LOGGER DEPLOYMENT HOBO DATA LOGGER Readout WHY SALINITY?

• Detecting species tolerances • Assessing water circulation • Nutrient inputs from freshwater • Avoiding water quality problems • Identify source of contamination • Predicting PSP blooms SPECIES TOLERANCES

• Oysters – Optimum 25-35 ppt – Slow growth below 20 ppt – Little or no pumping below 13 ppt. – Harmful effect on gills at 10.5 ppt • Scallop – Consistently above 29 ppt WATER CIRCULATION

Pacific Fisheries Environmental Laboratory Upwelling Indices Date Time Freshwater lens Midnight 6:00 am Noon 6:00 pm 9/19/2011 115 49 21 -10 9/20/2011 -56 43 54 58 9/21/2011 33 -53 97 391 9/22/2011 187 102 30 -55 9/23/2011 -371 10 447 227 9/24/2011 60 26 8 -13 9/25/2011 -18 -11 13 23 9/26/2011 3 -120 -412 -348 9/27/2011 -127 -9 73 117 9/28/2011 80 59 58 44 9/29/2011 0 -45 -176 -123 9/30/2011 35 233 135 54 Positive number indicate upwelling

Upwelling of deep water to the surface is indicated by a decline in temperature and an increase in salinity. Upwelling can bring nutrient rich water to the surface. NUTRIENTS AVOIDING WATER QUALITY PROBLEMS Site in areas of higher salinity

• Avoid dense bird and mammal populations • Avoid populated areas or areas of intensive use • Check the land use designation for development

SALINITY RECORDERS

Refractometers • Very simple to use • Portable • Ask for temperature compensation model • $45.00-$205.00 Meters meters • Probes requiring water collection

SALINITY RECORDERS

Hydrometers • Least expensive – $30.00 to 100.00 – Compensate for temperature • Accuracy ± 1.5 ppt SALINITY RECORDERS

• Conductivity meters – Expensive – Hundreds to thousands – Adjusted for temperature • YSI Meter salinity meters – Expensive ($800.00 +) – Easy to use – Record temperature also – Record at different depths WHY CLARITY? Turbidity is (The lack of clarity) is caused by: – Freshwater runoff of silt from land erosion – Not a good quality – Can decrease efficiency of shellfish feeding – Phytoplankton food for shellfish – A generally good quality – If high quality feed at the right density MEASURING WATER CLARITY SECCHI DISK 1. Lower the disk on the shaded side of the boat until the disk disappears 2. Raise the until the disk appears 3. Measure depth as recorded on the rope

Difference in depth is Due to water Also record apparent color Clarity (Case1 Has clearer Water than Case 2) Yellow Gray Blue Green Case 1 Case 2 WEATHER CONDITIONS Weather station data – http://www.tutiempo.net/en/Weather/USA/Alaska/AK.html – Air temperature – Precipitation – Wind velocity – Visibility

PREDICTING PSP

• Heavy rainfall – Reduction in salinity • Followed by – Increasing visibility • Light source for the plankton bloom – Calm winds • Stratified water column • Favors dinoflagellates

SUPPLIERS

• Radio Shack – www.radioshack.com (1-800-THE-SHACK) • Aquatic Ecosystems – www.aquaticeco.com (1-877-347-4788) • Hanna – www.hannainst.com/usa (800-426-6287) • Wildco – www.wildco.com/ (800-799-8301) SAMPLING DESIGN Temperature

• Tides can range temperature nearly 0.50C during a single day – Maximum temperature usually in evening – Sample multiple times/day or recording thermometer • Take surface temperature below the surface – ~ 3-6 feet if possible • Check for thermocline development and stability – Regular temperature at each meter depth – Deploy a recording thermometer below 30 feet WATER SAMPLING Salinity

• Recorded in parts per thousand • Be sure that temperature has been considered – Adjusted by a chart or compensated by the instrument • Surface salinity should be below the surface • Also check salinity when checking for the temperature for the thermocline DATA HANDLING Recording and Storage • If you want a HOBO recorder on your site, please contact me. • Data sheets • Store in dry protected area • Be careful with sharing – Check for quality WHY PHYTOPLANKTON

• Bivalve shellfish consume phytoplankton as their primary food source • Phytoplankton species composition is directly related to shellfish growth. • Phytoplankton blooms are seasonal and their intensity and duration is important for shellfish growth. • Toxic phytoplankton can impact your farming operation.

PHYTOPLANKTON GROUPS

Dinoflagellates Diatoms PHYTOPLANKTON BLOOMS MONITORING PHYTOPLANKTON • Spring and fall are dominated by diatoms that are high quality food • If Salinity and turbidity are high, a bloom of phytoplankton is the likely cause • Take a secchi disk reading to measure turbidity when • Take a phytoplankton sample – Record the date, secchi disk reading, and the predominent phytoplankton types. TAKING THE PHYTOPLANKTON SAMPLE • Phytoplankton net with a 10 micron • Vertical tow to ensure that you are not sampling in the freshwater lens • Pull you net for a known distance • Do procedure the same way all the time • Examine collection microscopically for ID COLLECTING PLANKTON ZOOPLANKTON Measurement

• Settled volume Settling Cones • Indirect method – Simple and fast One hour

– Does not identify Measure species the volume

ZOOPLANKTON Measurement

• Direct counting – Complex – Requires time and training – Known volumes – Identify and count WHY MONITOR FOR ZOOPLANKTON

• Looking for larval stages of fouling organisms • Predict fouling events for prompt response

At arrow tip is a large mussel larva MONTORING CAN

• Can tell you about your site • Give you an indication of how the water is circulating and the effect on oyster growinng • Indicate the potential safety and quality of your oysters • Sources of water change (i.e upwelling) • Forecasting harvest • Predicting potential PSP problems

COLLECTING MUSSEL SEED • Plankton tows twice each week to capture floating scallop larva – Identify mussel larva – Measure larva • Deploy gear when larva are 220 um in length

M

M

M M BLUE MUSSELS

• Separate mussels from plankton sample • Place under M microscope 240 um M • Measure the size M M • Determine 240 um threashold as the setting time Date • Clean gear with a few weeks