Meteorological and Nutrient Conditions Influence Microcystin Congeners in Freshwaters

Cyanobacterial blooms increasingly impair inland waters, with the potential for a concurrent increase in cyanotoxins that have been linked to animal and human mortalities. Microcystins (MCs) are among the most commonly detected cyanotoxins, but little is known about the distribution of different MC...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Toxins 2019-10, Vol.11 (11), p.620
Main Authors: Taranu, Zofia E, Pick, Frances R, Creed, Irena F, Zastepa, Arthur, Watson, Sue B
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Bioaccumulation
Biological magnification
climate
Congeners
cyanotoxins
Environmental factors
Fresh water
Freshwater resources
great lakes
Inland waters
Lake morphometry
Lakes
long-term monitoring
mc-la
microcystin congeners
Microcystins
Morphometry
multivariate statistics
Nutrients
raw water intake
Regression analysis
Rivers
Toxicity
Toxins
Water intake
Water intakes
Water pollution
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Summary:Cyanobacterial blooms increasingly impair inland waters, with the potential for a concurrent increase in cyanotoxins that have been linked to animal and human mortalities. Microcystins (MCs) are among the most commonly detected cyanotoxins, but little is known about the distribution of different MC congeners despite large differences in their biomagnification, persistence, and toxicity. Using raw-water intake data from sites around the Great Lakes basin, we applied multivariate canonical analyses and regression tree analyses to identify how different congeners (MC-LA, -LR, -RR, and -YR) varied with changes in meteorological and nutrient conditions over time (10 years) and space (longitude range: 77°2'60 to 94°29'23 W). We found that MC-LR was associated with strong winds, warm temperatures, and nutrient-rich conditions, whereas the equally toxic yet less commonly studied MC-LA tended to dominate under intermediate winds, wetter, and nutrient-poor conditions. A global synthesis of lake data in the peer-reviewed literature showed that the composition of MC congeners differs among regions, with MC-LA more commonly reported in North America than Europe. Global patterns of MC congeners tended to vary with lake nutrient conditions and lake morphometry. Ultimately, knowledge of the environmental factors leading to the formation of different MC congeners in freshwaters is necessary to assess the duration and degree of toxin exposure under future global change.
ISSN:2072-6651
2072-6651
DOI:10.3390/toxins11110620