Zoo animals may be particularly vulnerable to water sources contaminated with cyanobacterial toxins given their nonvoluntary close association with this resource. However, the prevalence and potential threat of toxic cyanobacteria in this setting are unknown. Several otherwise unexplained yellow-bellied slider (Trachemys scripta scripta) deaths were documented in a zoo moat with recurring bloom...

Mass populations of toxin-producing cyanobacteria commonly develop in fresh-, brackish- and marine waters and effective strategies for monitoring and managing cyanobacterial health risks are required to safeguard animal and human health. A multi-interdisciplinary study, including two UK freshwaters with a history of toxic cyanobacterial blooms, was undertaken to explore different approaches for...

Cyanobacterial blooms and hepatotoxic microcystins (MCs) usually occur in summer, constituting a sanitary and environmental problem in Salto Grande Dam, Argentina. Water sports and recreational activities take place in summer in this lake. We reported an acute case of cyanobacterial poisoning in Salto Grande dam, Argentina, which occurred in January 2007. Accidentally, a young man was immersed ...

Cyanobacteria are found globally due to their adaptation to various environments. The occurrence of cyanobacterial blooms is not a new phenomenon. The bloom-forming and toxin-producing species have been a persistent nuisance all over the world over the last decades. Evidence suggests that this trend might be attributed to a complex interplay of direct and indirect anthropogenic influences. To c...

Evidence indicates that the incidence of cyanobacterial harmful algal blooms (CHABs) is increasing in spatial extent and temporal frequency worldwide. Cyanobacterial blooms produce highly potent toxins and huge, noxious biomasses in surface waters used for recreation, commerce, and as drinking water sources. The Interagency, International Symposium on Cyanobacterial Harmful Algal Blooms (ISOC-H...

Cyanobacteria are prokaryotic, plantlike organisms present in lakes, recreational waters, and reservoirs, and often dominate phytoplankton communities in warm, nutrient-enriched hard waters. A stable water column rich in certain nutrients, especially nitrogen and phosphorus, is associated with favorable environmental conditions that support development of cyanobacterial population maxima or "bl...

Missisquoi Bay (MB) is a temperate eutrophic freshwater lake that frequently experiences toxic Microcystis-dominated cyanobacterial blooms. Non-point sources are responsible for the high concentrations of phosphorus and nitrogen in the bay. This study combined data from environmental parameters, E. coli counts, high-throughput sequencing of 16S rRNA gene amplicons, quantitative PCR (16S rRNA an...

In response to natural or anthropocentric pollutions coupled to global climate changes, microorganisms from aquatic environments can suddenly accumulate on water surface. These dense suspensions, known as blooms, are harmful to ecosystems and significantly degrade the quality of water resources. In order to determine the physico-chemical parameters involved in their formation and quantitatively...

Cyanobacterial toxins constitute one of the most high risk categories of waterborne toxic biological substances. For this reason there is a clear need to know which freshwater environments are most susceptible to the development of large populations of cyanobacteria. Phytoplankton data from 134 UK lakes were used to develop a series of Generalised Additive Models and Generalised Additive Mixed ...

Cyanobacterial blooms are potential health hazards in water supply reservoirs. This paper reports analyses of a cyanobacterial bloom by use of PCR-based methods for direct detection and identification of strains present and determination of their toxigenicity. Serial samples from Malpas Dam, in the New England region of Australia, were analyzed during a prolonged, mixed cyanobacterial bloom in ...