LMVP coordinators were in Finland this August to present Missouri lake data. The event was the 29th Congress of the International Association of Theoretical and Applied Limnology. The conference meets every three years and is truly an international affair, with attendees from over 65 countries taking part in the Congress. Tony’s talk was entitled Bacterial Abundance in Missouri Reservoirs in Relation to Trophic State, Dan presented Response in the James River Arm of Table Rock Lake to Point Source Phosphorus Reductions. Dr. Jack Jones, program manager for all of the projects coordinated by the limnology laboratory at the University of Missouri (including the LMVP), presented Monsoon influences on the limnology of Juam Lake, South Korea. All of the presentations will appear as articles published in the 29th Congressional Proceedings.

Tony presented his Master’s thesis work, which deals with the numbers of bacteria in Missouri lakes and their relation to phosphorus and algae. Essentially, as the phosphorus increases in the water, both algae and bacteria increase. Note that these bacteria aren’t the kind associated with sewage that can make you sick. The bacteria in question are just run-of-the-mill bacteria that grow everywhere. In general, bacteria consume organic matter. If there’s plenty of organic matter, the number of bacteria increases. These bacteria serve as food for the smaller animals that can be seen under a microscope. These smaller animals then become food for slightly larger (but still quite small) animals, and so on. In some cases, bacteria can be more important than algae as a food source in a lake’s food web. This work was part of the Statewide Lake Assessment Project and was funded by the Missouri Department of Natural Resources.

Dan’s presentation is summarized in Changes in the James River Basin