Field methods in the study of toxic cyanobacterial blooms: results and insights from Lake Erie research.

Quantification of toxic Microcystis spp. during the 2003 and 2004 blooms in western Lake Erie using quantitative real-time PCR.

In August of 2003 and August of 2004, blooms of potentially toxic cyanobacteria Microcystis spp. persisted in western Lake Erie. Samples collected from the bloom were analyzed for the cyanobacterial toxin microcystin and the presence of Microcystis spp. cells. Estimates of microcystin toxicity exceeding 1 microg L(-1) (microcystin-LR activity equivalents), the safety limit set by the World Heal...

The dual role of nitrogen supply in controlling the growth and toxicity of cyanobacterial blooms.

Historically, phosphorus (P) has been considered the primary limiting nutrient for phytoplankton assemblages in freshwater ecosystems. This review, supported by new findings from Lake Erie, highlights recent molecular, laboratory, and field evidence that the growth and toxicity of some non-diazotrophic blooms of cyanobacteria can be controlled by nitrogen (N). Cyanobacteria such as Microcystis ...

Agricultural Runoff, Cyanobacterial Blooms in Lake Erie and Public Health: A Knowledge Synthesis

Interannual Variability of Cyanobacterial Blooms in Lake Erie

After a 20-year absence, severe cyanobacterial blooms have returned to Lake Erie in the last decade, in spite of negligible change in the annual load of total phosphorus (TP). Medium-spectral Resolution Imaging Spectrometer (MERIS) imagery was used to quantify intensity of the cyanobacterial bloom for each year from 2002 to 2011. The blooms peaked in August or later, yet correlate to discharge ...

Proteomic Analysis of Hepatic Tissue of Cyprinus carpio L. Exposed to Cyanobacterial Blooms in Lake Taihu, China

With the rapid development of industry and agriculture and associated pollution, the cyanobacterial blooms in Lake Taihu have become a major threat to aquatic wildlife and human health. In this study, the ecotoxicological effects of cyanobacterial blooms on cage-cultured carp (Cyprinus carpio L.) in Meiliang Bay of Lake Taihu were investigated. Microcystins (MCs), major cyanobacterial toxins, h...