Ecology of Open Algae PondsEcology of Open Algae PondsRob McBrideOctober 2014Rob McBrideOctober 2014

Sapphire Produces Valuable Products From Algae, Sunlight, & CO2

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Sapphire’s Primary Production Platform – Open Ponds

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• Focused on the production of low cost biomass• Open ponds are continuously operated year round• Key challenge to continuous open operation is stability• Pests primarily impact stability

Open Pond Stability

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• Mechanical strategies • Netting, filters

• Cultural strategies• pH, Ammonia, Magnesium etc.

• Chemical strategies• Chlorine, glyphosate, headline, etc.

• Biotic strategies• Trophic interactions

An Example of a Sapphire Pest Management Strategy

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An Example of a Sapphire Pest Management Strategy

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1. Letcher, P. M., S. Lopez, et al. (2013). "Characterization of Amoeboaphelidium protococcarum, an Algal Parasite New to the Cryptomycota Isolated from an Outdoor Algal Pond Used for the Production of Biofuel." PloS one 8(2): e56232.2. McBride, R. C., S. Lopez, et al. (2014). "Contamination Management in Low Cost Open Algae Ponds for Biofuels Production." Industrial Biotechnology 10(3): 221-227.

Why Are We interested in Open Pond Ecology?

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1. Shurin, J., R. Abbott, et al. (2013). "Industrial strength ecology: trade offs and opportunities in algal biofuel production." ‐ ‐ Ecology letters 16(11): 1393-1404.

In Open Algae Ponds, What is the Richness/Stability Relationship?

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Overview of the Data Collection

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Summary of the Generated Data

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Bacteria Eukaryotes

Summary of the Generated Data

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Bacteria Eukaryotes

Is Open Algal Pond Species Richness Related to Productivity/Stability?

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How Do Pond Management Practices Impact Species Richness?

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How Do Pond Management Practices Impact Species Richness?

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Bacteria Eukaryotes

Open Algae Pond Ecology – What are the Punchlines?

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• There was a positive relationship between increasing species diversity and the productivity of the open algae pond.

• Increasing species diversity did not increase the variance of the open algae pond with this analysis.

• Process and management strategies can impact ecology, and these impacts can be lasting.

• While we are still far from engineering open pond algae ecosystems, these type of data suggest that open pond algae systems display some of the patterns observed in terrestrial ecosystems.

• We and others are working to construct stable consortia in the lab that have productivity and stability benefits, and hope to translate those to the field to realize the potential of the open pond platform for the continued production of low cost biomass.

Acknowledgements

• UCSD Steve Mayfield John Shurin Vineet Bafna Doruk Beyter

• Life Technologies Farzad Haerizadeh Pei-Zhong Tang Scott Becker Todd Peterson

• SDSU Yan Wei Lim

• Sapphire Energy Las Cruces – Crop protection Team (Kalli Lambeth), Harvest Team, Cultivation Team San Diego – Tony Hoang, Damla Bilgin, Craig Behnke

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Questions?