The red tide and Myrionecta rubra’s ecological impact and dynamic in the Columbia River estuary Intern: Rachel Warnick Frontline Mentor: Lydie Herfort Senior Mentor: Peter Zuber

2 Myrionecta Rubra Ciliate Karyoklepty –Cryptophyte algae (Teleaulax) Red tide blooms in estuary –High primary productivity Possible sentinel? Cryptophyte nucleus

3 Our Question 1 How does the M. rubra bloom start? Where do the cryptophytes come from? Assimilated model data image of surface water circulation in the Columbia River estuary (CMOP, Antonio Baptista)

4 Sampling Locations Willapa Bay Ilwaco Harbor Chinook Harbor Hammond North Channel of Estuary

Bloom Timeline June 30 July 21 August 5 No red tide in Baker Bay nor in the estuary M. rubra and cryptophyte detected in samples from Baker Bay, not detected in estuary main channel Pictures taken by Tawnya Peterson of July 21, 2009 Baker Bay/ Ilwaco sample Red tide evident both in Baker Bay and the estuary Insert M. rubra cell counts???

6 How does the M. rubra bloom start? June 30 July 21 August 5 No red tide in Baker Bay nor in the estuary M. rubra and cryptophyte detected in samples from Baker Bay, not detected in estuary main channel Pictures taken by Tawnya Peterson of July 21, 2009 Baker Bay/ Ilwaco sample Red tide evident both in Baker Bay and the estuary

7 Are different strains of M. rubra and its cryptophyte prey found at different times and locations in the Columbia River Estuary system? Phylogenetic tree of the cryptophyte chloroplast 16S rRNA gene sequences from the 2007 and 2008 Columbia River estuary M. rubra bloom. Herfort et al 2009 (In Prep) Our Question 2

8 18S 5.8S 28S 5.8S oMR Our M. rubra ITS sequence ITS region 18S= 18S rRNA gene, ribosomal sequence frequently used for phylogenetic analysis ITS= Internal transcribed spacer, a variable DNA region Genetic Markers Euk A Euk B RUBICSO gene of cryptophyte L2F L1R

9 M. rubra NCBI database sequence Our new M. rubra ITS sequence S M. rubra sequence

10 Conclusions continued Is there variation, both temporally and spatially, in the strain of M. rubra and the strain of its cryptophyte prey in the Columbia River Estuary system? Insert rubisco phylogenetic tree here???

11 Any Questions? 27 Sept 2008 Picture taken by Alex Derr