11th International GAP Meeting

Franz Theodore Stone Laboratory

A freshwater field station on Lake Erie since 1895 and part of The Ohio State University since 1925, Stone Lab programs have introduced thousands – from elementary students to adults – to the basics of field-based biological science. Scientists from all over the Midwest work here helping to solve the most pressing issues facing the Great Lakes, such as invasive species and toxic algal blooms.

Stone Lab Facilities

The Peach Point Research Building on South Bass Island is located in front of the docks for Stone Lab’s research vessels and has well-equipped wet lab and analytical lab space. The wet lab is capable of setting up four 1.67 m3 lake water-feed, flow-through aquaria. The analytical lab has a total of 14 m2 bench space and is equipped with analytical equipment (listed below) needed to analyze water samples for concentrations of the major forms of phosphorus, nitrogen, and silica, chlorophyll a, cyanotoxins, total suspended solids, and phytoplankton identification. The analytical lab also has equipment and supplies for culturing algae. Additionally, in situ microcosm experiments can be deployed off the docks in front of the research building.

The Stone Laboratory classroom building on adjacent Gibraltar Island is located across the bay from Peach Point Research Building. Guests can freely use rowboats to transport between the two islands at any time, or use pre-scheduled transports aboard larger vessels. The classroom building has two large laboratories and both have 7.5 m2 of bench space and sinks. Both laboratories have lake water-feed, flow-through pumps. A conference room with a maximum capacity of 80 is located on the third floor. Additionally, like the Peach Point Research Building, in situ microcosm experiments can be deployed off the docks in front of the classroom building.

Equipment

Nutrient concentrations (P, N, Si) are measured on a SEAL Analytical Quaatro segmented-flow nutrient auto-analyzer. The analyzer can process up to 100 samples per batch and multiple batches of samples can be analyzed in a day. A Tuttnauer 3850 autoclave can be used for total P digestions, as well as sterilizing culture media and glassware. Eighty total P samples can be digested in one cycle. A WestCo Smart Digest block digestor is used to digest samples for TKN analysis. Forty samples per cycle can be digested and two cycles per day can be run. A BioTek 96-well plate reader is used for quantification of cyanotoxins by ELISA. Each ELISA plate can hold 37 samples and several plates can be analyzed per day. A Shimadzu UV 1240 is used for chlorophyll analysis and other colorimetric analyses. A bbe FluoroProbe is used to quickly quantify chlorophyll concentrations assigned to green algae, cyanobacteria, diatoms, and cryptophytes. A bbe BenthoTorch is used to quickly quantify benthic biomasses of green algae, cyanobacteria, and diatoms. An Eppendorf 5810R refrigerated centrifuge can spin down samples in 2-mL, 15-mL, and 50-mL tubes. A FlowCAM Cyano is used for phytoplankton identification and quantification. The length of time to quantify phytoplankton with the FlowCAM can range from about 15 min to several hours, depending on the density of the sample, the amount of interfering abiotic particles, and the diversity of phytoplankton. FlowCAM Cyano has fluorescence triggers that can differentiate between cyanobacteria and eukaryotic algae based on pigmentation. The lab has -80°C and -20°C freezers that are used to store samples. Two Percival Scientific E-36HO incubators, which are light and temperature controlled, are used to culture algae.

The Classroom Building has 16 Zeiss compound light microscopes with 4x, 10x, and 20x objectives and 16 dissecting light microscopes. A larger compound light microscope with a 40x objective is connected to a Spot Imaging camera for capturing photographs of plankton.

Stone Lab has two YSI EXO2 multi-probe sondes that are used to measure vertical profiles of water temperature, dissolved oxygen, pH, turbidity, and chlorophyll and phycocyanin fluorescence. The sondes are stored in the analytical lab and used aboard the research vessels.

Research vessels

Stone Laboratory has four research vessels that all dock at Peach Point Research Building on South Bass Island. The R/V Erie Monitor is a 25-ft (7.6 m) Almar boat capable of speeds of 35 knots, and the vessel has a 1-day full tank range of gas to Maumee Bay and back or east into the central basin to about Avon, Ohio (~40 nautical miles from Stone Lab). The R/V Erie Monitor can carry up to six passengers and is ideal for water collection sampling. The R/V GS-3 is a 25-ft (7.6 m) custom built hull with twin 115 horsepower engines and an electric davit capable of lifting 500 pounds. The R/V GS-3 can carry up to four passengers. The R/V Gibraltar III is a 42-ft (12.8 m) trawler with an A-frame capable of deploying trawl nets or heavy sediment sampling equipment. The R/V Gibraltar III can carry up to 28 passengers. The R/V Gibraltar III can be used for water sampling in larger waves than either the R/V Erie Monitor or the R/V GS-3. The fourth vessel is the 37-ft (11.3 m) trawler M/V BioLab. The M/V BioLab has a top speed of only 10 knots and is only used for near-island sampling. All vessels have Garmin GPS and radar and a depth finder with side-scan sonar.

In addition, research will be aided by real-time monitoring data available at multiple field sites through deployment of water quality sondes, meteorological sensors, ADCPs and nutrient analyzers linked to the Great Lakes Observing System.