Seasonal changes in composition of the cyanobacterial community and the occurrence of hepatotoxic blooms in the eastern townships, Québec, Canada

Four eutrophic lakes in the eastern townships (Québec, Canada) were sampled on a biweekly basis between May and October 2001 to examine seasonal changes, and to study the role of taxonomic and environmental factors in cyanobacterial toxin production. Microcystin-LR (MC-LR) equivalent content was det...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of plankton research 2005-07, Vol.27 (7), p.683-694
Main Authors: ROLLAND, Anne, BIRD, David F, GIANI, Alessandra
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Anabaena
Animal and plant ecology
Animal biology
Animal, plant and microbial ecology
Applied ecology
Biological and medical sciences
Biomass
Blooms
Ecotoxicology, biological effects of pollution
Environmental factors
Eutrophic lakes
Extinction coefficient
Freshwater
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Genera
General aspects
Inland waters
Invertebrate Zoology
Life Sciences
Microcystin-LR
Microcystis
Nutrients
Phosphatase
Plankton
Protein phosphatase
Seasonal variations
Stability
Synecology
Toxicity
Water column
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Summary:Four eutrophic lakes in the eastern townships (Québec, Canada) were sampled on a biweekly basis between May and October 2001 to examine seasonal changes, and to study the role of taxonomic and environmental factors in cyanobacterial toxin production. Microcystin-LR (MC-LR) equivalent content was determined using a protein phosphatase inhibition assay on extracts of lyophilized plankton. Three of the lakes showed a similar pattern of maximum water column toxicity in late summer, while in the fourth, toxicity was highest in spring and then declined over the year. Variations in water toxicity level could be attributed to the abundance of two potentially toxigenic genera, Microcystis and Anabaena. A multiple regression model explained 75% of the variation in microcystin (MC) concentration, based on water column total nitrogen concentration (TN) and the biomass of these two genera. Microcystis and Anabaena genera appeared to be similarly toxic in all lakes. Increased water column stability, higher light extinction coefficient and a lack of dissolved nutrients were all associated with increased total biomass of toxigenic cyanobacterial genera.
ISSN:0142-7873
1464-3774
DOI:10.1093/plankt/fbi042