Is it just me, or is there a new "weed"?

[KTO]

All summer, I've noticed globs of green floating in the water, at all depths. Sometimes I'd see it at the top of the water, sometimes floating near the bottom. I almost mistaked it for a rock near the surface today! Sometimes when we're swimming, this stuff becomes a REAL mess! What is up with this stuff? Has it always been there? I thinks I've seen it before, but this years seems one hundred times worse!

[Ski Man]

It's from people fertilizing their lawns.

[GWC...]

Do fish use handkerchiefs when they blow their nose?

Now you know the true cause of the Lake mystery - Fish Snot.

[Proline]

Does anyone know what the stuff is. I am up in Tuftonboro and I have seen it the past 2 weeks. I have never seen this stuff in the lake before. It started out green and is changing to a brownish color now. It suspends in the water and also floats on top as turns brown. It resembles small greenish rounds balls about the size of a pencil point. When floating on top it is as thick as the June pollen.

[Onshore]

I have the answers to your algae questions.
1) The green stuff that is affectionally referred to as fish snots or cotton candy is actually a filamentous green algae. New Hampshire lakes have had significant amounts of this algae over the past summer. The heavy rainfall has resulted in a high volume of runoff and phosphorus to our lakes this spring and summer. Filamentous green algae grow best when phosphorus levels are high, water temperature is high and there is sunshine for chlorophyll production. They typically grow in coves, embayments or in deeper waters where wind and wave action are minimal. They are common to NH waters and do not present any toxicity issues.

2) The green blobs or balls are a cyanobacteria called Gloeotrichia. They are prevalent in Winnipesaukee, Winnisquam and Sunapee during late August. This cyanobacteria is not a toxin producer and will start to disappear in a couple of weeks when the water cools down. By late October, the diatoms (algae) should have established themselves as the dominant phytoplankton once again.

[Rattlesnake Gal]

Thank you Shore Things for the great information.

[madrasahs]

Originally Posted by KTO

All summer, I've noticed globs of green floating in the water, at all depths...Has it always been there? I think I've seen it before, but this year seems one hundred times worse!

I can only tell you that it hasn't always been here. It "first appeared" here in the early 80s, when I rented at the same location after an absense.

Questions for "shore things":

Do the NH lakes that remain "Class A" (directly-drinkable) have such filamentous algae-blooms?

Is shoreline erosion a factor in encouraging filamentous algae?

What restrictions would it take to return Lake Winnipesaukee to "Class A", (other than retiring the "Class A" label).

Would such restrictions discourage exotic milfoil as well?

(Anybody):

Can the folks who have "infiltration wells" detect an algae-produced color/taste change from April to September? (If drawn directly in late summer, it's been green -- and algae-scented).

[KTO]

Sorry, wasn't around in 1980! As far as I see it, it's been around forever!

[Onshore]

The filamentous green algae has been around the lake longer than any of us. The fact is that it has become more dominant in the last 20 years. As lake development increases, more trees are cut, more driveways and roof tops are installed (called impervious areas) and less areas are available to decrease the flow and energy of the inflowing water. There are also less buffer areas that can filter the phosphorus rich water before it enters the lake. We have now altered the watershed flow regime to an increase of surface water flow and a decrease of groundwater flow to the lake. More surface water means more erosion and more phoshorus (P), the nutrient that is necessary for plant growth. How many can remember when the rocks did not have a slimy coat of green stuff on them?
No one should be drinking the water without treatment, it is like playing Russsian Roulett, you never know what protozoa, bacteria or virus is floating by your intake when you turn on the faucet. Class A bodies of water are determined legislatively. These waters are considered to be potentially safe for a water supply uses after adequate treatment. Many of these Class A waterbodies do have filamentous green algae, the amount is dependent upon the P concentration in the waterbody.
Yes, shoreline erosion is a factor in increasing turbidity and P to the lake. Erosional remnants contain P that eventually severs the bond with aluminum and iron to become available to the plankton or vascular plants.
Lake Winnipesuakee is a Class B waterbody. It would take a cooperative effort between all the surrounding towns, and all the state's environmental resource groups to start a watershed plan that is consistent and protective of the lake, a tall order.
I think milfoil and other exotics are here to stay for a while. New milfoil research that will get underway within the year will hopefully help NH find better ways to control this terrible plant. Right now, NH leads the United States with one of the toughest exotic plant laws in the nation. Now NH will be the first to conduct some research that will potenially give limnologists better insight to why it grows so well here, new biological controls, more effective herbicides and more DNA research.
Algae in high concentrations give off both odors and can color the water. I susect that an infiltration well a fair distance from the lake will filter at least the algal cells. I would have the water tested seasonally to check for any seasonal variation in water quality.

[MAXUM]

Wow shore things, you sound like a college professor! I feel very well educated now.

Just an interesting observation though, it seems like in the past few years the amount of plant growth in the lake has significantly increased. Granted there is an increase in development around the lake, but it seems like the situation with the water quality deterioration is not really in line with the amount of development. One other interesting observation, maybe in your wisdom can shed a light on this... I've noticed another plant growing in several lakes, one which I never ever recall seeing before. It forms a mat of small green slender leaves, almost like grass across the bottom of the lake and sends up, typically later in the summer months a long, sometimes very long stem with a single little bud on the end that sticks out of the water usually between 6" and a foot. This stuff seems to be growing everywhere now, what the heck is it? It seems to be rather invasive as well.

I'll tell ya I do a fair amount of snorkling and it's pretty sad to see what is happening. The rocks are all covered in slime, there are these big bright green slicks on some rocks. The milfoil is getting terrible. I've even noticed that there are areas now where what I call swamp weed is growing. I define that as that brown weed that grows in a single stalk and has curly leaves. The stuff is nasty looking.

Don't know if anything can be done to curb this it seems a shame if it continues like it is.

[Lin]

<>

It could be Needle SpikeRush
Shoreline Plants


Species: Eleocharis acicularis (L.) R. & S., needle spike-rush
Eleocharis parvula (R. & S.) Link, small spike-rush
Family: Cyperaceae

These green, grass-like perennial herbs can be recognized by the oval-shaped, brownish-flowering spikes at the tips of smooth, round stems. These spike-rush species grow individually or in clumps along shorelines or in shallow water, sometimes forming ankle-high turf-like mats. Needle spike-rush often looks hair-like when growing underwater. Several other spike-rush species also occur in Washington, some growing to waist height.


Leaf: Small, inconspicuous leaves are located at the stem base. Needle spike-rush: several needle-like square-tipped leaves with pale reddish basal sheaths. Small spike-rush: leaves have membranous sheaths at the base of the stems.
Stem: Round, green, solid (not hollow) stems turn brown in fall. Needle spike-rush: stems measure 2-15 cm tall. Small spike-rush: stems measure 1-10 cm tall.

Flower: Flowers are in round or oval spikes at the tips of stems and are arranged spirally. Each flower is protected by a scale-like bract. Needle spike-rush: flower scales are green down the center and brown on the sides with 3-15 flowers per spike. Small spike-rush: flower scales are green to brown, and reddish brown on the sides with 2-9 flowers per spike.

Fruit: The achenes are about 1mm long. Needle spike-rush: egg-shaped, white to pale gray or yellowish achene. Small spike-rush: straw-colored, 3-angled achene.

Root: Needle spike-rush: slender, branching rhizomes and stolons. Small spike-rush: slender, inconspicuous rhizomes and fibrous roots.

Propagation: By seeds and division of plants connected by rhizomes.

Importance of plant: Seeds and stems are important food for waterfowl and mammals. Spike-rushes provide habitat for amphibians and fish and help stabilize shorelines.

Distribution: Needle spike-rush: Northern hemisphere. Small spike-rush: Europe, North America, and northern South America.

Habitat: Adapted to fluctuating water levels. Needle spike-rush: marshes, shallow water of lakes, ponds, and stream beds. Small spike-rush: wet saline flats, marshes, and alkaline lakes.

May be confused with: Each other; refer to technical keys to distinguish species of Eleocharis. Spike-rush species may also be confused with grasses and small rushes (Juncus spp.) or sedges (Carex spp.), which all lack the solitary flower spikes at the stem tips. Sedges also generally have wedge-shaped stems.

Photographs: Eleocharis acicularis, Eleocharis parvula

Line Drawings: Eleocharis acicularis, Eleocharis sp.

Here's a good site to locate info on Aquatic vegetation.
http://www.ecy.wa.gov/programs/wq/pl...ategories.html

Shoreline development with the roofs, driveways and plush fertilized lawns are big culprits but so are the homes & developments beyond the shoreline. Storm drains, culverts and runoffs are a major source of contaminated runoff into water bodies. Granted a lawn a quarter mile away from the lake in a heavy rainstorm will probably filter out many contaminants before reaching the lake but we know there is more than one house beyound the shoreline. Everyone needs to do their part to limit the amount of contaminants that can enter our lakes and rivers.
Lin

[madrasahs]

Originally Posted by MAXUM

... I've noticed another plant growing in several lakes, one which I never ever recall seeing before. It forms a mat of small green slender leaves, almost like grass across the bottom of the lake and sends up, typically later in the summer months a long, sometimes very long stem with a single little bud on the end that sticks out of the water usually between 6" and a foot. This stuff seems to be growing everywhere now, what the heck is it? It seems to be rather invasive as well.

I don't know the name of it, but that particular plant was growing off my place 50 years ago, so it is probably native (not invasive).

The stem looks like a very long (40-inches) length of spaghetti, with a pencil-eraser-sized bud on top. Though fragile, it's a perfect dragonfly perch.

Over the years, these plants have actually decreased here, as the bottom is now covered with waterlogged sticks and bark fragments, limiting its spread. Excessive wakes in May and June's high water pull all manner of forest into the lake: moss, soil, mushrooms, sticks, bark, rocks, pine needles, branches -- once, even a bird's nest!

Later, when the stalks grow to the surface, the wakes pull out the delicate stalks, which may be disrupting it in its native sites and allowing it to establish elsewhere in Winnipesaukee.

[upthesaukee]

The green "slime" is not just limited to the lakes. Our little stream that runs behind our house comes down off of Alton Mountain. The rocks in the stream, the roots of trees in the stream, and anything else that finds its way into the stream gets a coating of "slime". Have to feel that it is the run off of surface water from the nice homes on the mountain with their very nice lawns that makes it into the roadside "gutters" and eventually to the stream that crosses Alton Mountain Road near the bottom of the hill. (I don't fertilize)

[mcdude]

Green slime takes over lake....
Click for Concord Monitor Article