In-situ optical and acoustical measurements of the buoyant cyanobacterium p. Rubescens: spatial and temporal distribution patterns.

Optical (fluorescence) and acoustic in-situ techniques were tested in their ability to measure the spatial and temporal distribution of plankton in freshwater ecosystems with special emphasis on the harmful and buoyant cyanobacterium P. rubescens. Fluorescence was measured with the multi-spectral FluoroProbe (Moldaenke FluoroProbe, MFP) and a Seapoint Chlorophyll Fluorometer (SCF). In-situ measurements of the acoustic backscatter strength (ABS) were conducted with three different acoustic devices covering multiple acoustic frequencies (614 kHz ADCP, 2 MHz ADP, and 6 MHz ADV). The MFP provides a fast and reliable technique to measure fluorescence at different wavelengths in situ, which allows discriminating between P. rubescens and other phytoplankton species. All three acoustic devices are sensitive to P. rubescens even if other scatterers, e.g., zooplankton or suspended sediment, are present in the water column, because P. rubescens containing gas vesicles has a strong density difference and hence acoustic contrast to the ambient water and other scatterers. After calibration, the combination of optical and acoustical measurements not only allows qualitative and quantitative observation of P. rubescens, but also distinction between P. rubescens, other phytoplankton, and zooplankton. As the measuring devices can sample in situ at high rates they enable assessment of plankton distributions at high temporal (minutes) and spatial (decimeters) resolution or covering large temporal (seasonal) and spatial (basin scale) scales.