Application of autonomous underwater vehicle and image analysis for detecting the three-dimensional distribution of freshwater red tide Uroglena americana (Chrysophyceae)

The spatial structure of Uroglena americana was detected using an autonomous underwater vehicle equipped with a submersible microscope, video recording system and water quality monitoring sensors. Uroglena americana colonies were enumerated via image analysis and pattern recognition methods. This quantitative technique is useful for understanding plankton assemblages, distributions and their potential to become nuisance algal blooms.