Dead fish along the shores of the Lebanon Pool at Lake Texoma.  A 320x zoom view of the Golden Algae.

Norman – Dave Hambright, associate professor of zoology and member of the University of Oklahoma Biological Station, received a five-year commitment of more than $1.5 million from the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation for his research on the invasive and toxic golden algae, which may negatively affect such recreationally important species of fish as the striped bass.

According to Hambright’s research, the toxic golden algae, Prymnesium parvum, first appeared in Lake Texoma during the winter of 2004, causing substantial fish kills in several lake areas.  His research states that although the severity of golden algae blooms and fish kills in Lake Texoma have been relatively mild compared with several Texas reservoirs, information gained from blooms in Texas lakes indicates that such blooms could become a common feature at Lake Texoma and that the blooms could even intensify in their effects on the ecosystem.   Future blooms of golden algae could potentially wreak havoc, both ecologically and economically, on fishing at Lake Texoma.

With the funding from the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation, Hambright hopes to come up with a plan for lake managers to reduce the effects of golden algae on Lake Texoma fishes.