The red tide and Myrionecta rubra

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The red tide and Myrionecta rubras ecological
impact and dynamic in the Columbia River estuary

• Intern Rachel Warnick
• Frontline Mentor Lydie Herfort
• Senior Mentor Peter Zuber

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Myrionecta Rubra

• Ciliate
• Karyoklepty
• Cryptophyte algae (Teleaulax)
• Red tide blooms in estuary
• High primary productivity
• Possible sentinel?

Cryptophyte nucleus
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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)
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Sampling Locations

• Willapa Bay
• Ilwaco Harbor
• Chinook Harbor
• Hammond
• North Channel of Estuary

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2009 Bloom Timeline
July 21
August 5
June 30
Insert M. rubra cell counts???
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How does the M. rubra bloom start?
July 21
August 5
June 30
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Our Question 2

• 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)
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Genetic Markers

• 18S 18S rRNA gene, ribosomal sequence frequently
  used for phylogenetic analysis
• ITS Internal transcribed spacer, a variable DNA
  region

5.8S
28S
18S
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1242
M. rubra NCBI database sequence
1556
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1051
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Our new M. rubra ITS sequence
18S M. rubra sequence
743
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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???
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Any Questions?
27 Sept 2008 Picture taken by Alex Derr