Translating bumblebee dialect…
Nuisance blooms of the algae Didymosphenia geminata have become increasingly common and widespread over vast portions of its native range over the last several decades. However, unlike most algal blooms, blooms of this species of stalk-producing diatom appear to occur exclusively in streams with very low nutrient concentrations. Moreover, formation of blooms appears to be a recent phenomenon, as few reports of bloom formation by this algal species were reported prior to ~1990 from anywhere across its native range. That this now happens across a large geographic area suggests a driver that operates over large (i.e. continental) scales. This project proposes a preliminary investigation into the potential role of one such driver, chronic atmospheric nitrogen deposition, in facilitating the increased occurrence of D. geminata blooms.