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Texas Golden Algae update, 3/2/04

Texas HAB Work Group members:

A Prymnesium parvum bloom continues on Lake Texoma. While algal concentrations have increased slightly in the past two weeks, there is still no evidence of a fish kill in the main body of the reservoir. Pamela Hamlett, organic chemist at the TPWD Environmental Contaminants Laboratory, analyzed samples taken from Lake Texoma the week of February 23 and found toxins produced by golden alga at the following locations: Highport Marina, Mill Creek, Cedar Mills, Slickum Slough, Sheppard Annex, Rock Creek, Paw Paw Creek, Hills Cove, Cedar Bayou, No Name Cove, Juniper Point, and Flowing Wells. Pamela noted that other water bodies that have experienced active fish kills usually had much higher concentrations of the toxin, called prymnesin, than the concentrations she measured from the Lake Texoma samples.

Documenting a suite of environmental parameters, toxin concentrations, and bio-toxicity data are being actively pursued at this time by members of the Golden Alga Task Force at TPWD. Correlating these relationships and determining levels of concern remain to be completed once sufficient data are collected.

Cindy Contreras
Resource Protection Division
Texas Parks and Wildlife Department
4200 Smith School Road
Austin, TX 78744
(512) 912-7095
(512) 707-1358 fax
cindy.contreras@tpwd.state.tx.us