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Dr. King and Dr. Firmage
and undergraduate students of Colby College have worked with gleoetrichia on
Great Pond for the past several summers
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Current research is aimed
at better understanding the lifecycle of the bacteria
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Additionally, there is an
emphasis on the amount of phosphorus the bacteria holds.
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Pictured are traps that
were used two summers ago to capture the gloeotrichia as it traveled from
the floor towards the surface.
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similar traps were used this past summer, but were
located closer to the lake bottom
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to more accurately depict the numbers of gloeotrichia
coming off the bottom and how they correspond
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to different parts of the lake
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One of the goals of the
research project is to understand how much phosphorus an individual
bacterium holds
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will effect the total
amount of phosphorus in the lake
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Currently there are no
health concerns related to the bacteria.
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This summer DEP ran several tests indicating that the
bacteria is not toxic
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There are recreational
concerns in that it can be unpleasent to use the lake during times of
extreme blooms.
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