title: Quantification of phytoplankton bloom dynamics by citizen scientists in urban and peri-urban environments.
abstract: Freshwater ecosystems are severely threatened by urban development and agricultural intensification. Increased occurrence of algal blooms is a main issue, and the identification of local dynamics and drivers is hampered by a lack of field data. In this study, data from 13 cities (250 water bodies) were used to examine the capacity of trained community members to assess elevated phytoplankton densities in urban and peri-urban freshwater ecosystems. Coincident nutrient concentrations and land use observations were used to examine possible drivers of algal blooms. Measurements made by participants showed a good relationship to standard laboratory measurements of phytoplankton density, in particular in pond and lake ecosystems. Links between high phytoplankton density and nutrients (mainly phosphate) were observed. Microscale observations of pollution sources and catchment scale estimates of land cover both influenced the occurrence of algal blooms. The acquisition of environmental data by committed and trained community members represents a major opportunity to support agency monitoring programmes and to complement field campaigns in the study of catchment dynamics.
authors.affiliation: Earthwatch Institute, 256 Banbury Road, Oxford, UK.
authors.forename: Eva Pintado
authors.initials: EP
authors.lastname: Castilla
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Hidráulica e Saneamento, Escola de Engenharia de São Carlos, Universidade de São Paulo, São Carlos, SP, Brazil.
authors.forename: Davi Gasparini Fernandes
authors.initials: DG
authors.lastname: Cunha
authors.affiliation: School of Science and Technology, The Open University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China.
authors.forename: Fred Wang Fat
authors.initials: FW
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.affiliation: Earthwatch Institute, 256 Banbury Road, Oxford, UK. loiselle@unisi.it.
authors.forename: Steven
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Loiselle
authors.affiliation: School of Science and Technology, The Open University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China.
authors.forename: Kin Chung
authors.initials: KC
authors.lastname: Ho
authors.affiliation: Earthwatch Institute, 256 Banbury Road, Oxford, UK.
authors.forename: Charlotte
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Hall
mesh_terms: D003256:Community Participation; D017753:Ecosystem; D004784:Environmental Monitoring / Q000379:methods*; D005068:Eutrophication; D006801:Humans; D060106:Lakes; D010710:Phosphates; D010839:Phytoplankton / Q000254:growth & development*
chemical_list: D010710:Phosphates
keywords: Algal bloom monitoring; Citizen science; Phytoplankton; Urban ecosystems