The management of cyanobacteria and potential exposure to associated biotoxins requires the allocation of scarce resources across a range of freshwater resources within various jurisdictions. Cost effective and reliable methods for sample processing and analysis form the foundation of the protocol yielding reliable data from which to derive important decisions. In this study the utilization of new methods to collect, process and analyze samples enhanced our ability to evaluate cyanobacterial populations. Extraction of phycocyanin using the single freeze thaw method provided more accurate and precise measurements (CV 4.7% and 6.4%), offering a simple and cost-effective means to overcome the influence of morphological variability. In-vacuo concentration of samples prior to ELISA analysis provided a detection limit of 0.001 µg•L ). These methods and sampling protocol could be used in other aquatic systems across a broader regional landscape to estimate the levels of microcystins.

We have verified the use of a serial filtration method to isolate picocyanobacteria for analysis. We used eDNA metabarcoding to confirm the picocyanobacteria as members of the Order Synechococcales, Genus Cyanobium, specifically Cyanobium 6307. Fluorometric analysis using accessory pigments phycocyanin and phycoerythrin described periods of excess biomass, where the net growth rate model confirmed these conditions. The total anatoxin-a concentrations in the picocyanobacterial sample ranged from 0.0074 -6.41 µg•L −1 representing a 40-fold difference over the entire sampling season. Sampling frequency of every three days appeared to be an important factor in capturing these changes in anatoxin-a concentration. During a period of excess biomass, we were able to establish a linear correlation between cyanobacterial biomass and Anatoxin-a concentrations.

Cyanobacterial populations in surface waters, including drinking water supplies and recreational waters, represent an ever present challenge for resource managers. As communities continuously respond to external and internal processes, dynamic profiles of composition, dominance, growth and toxigenicity emerge. In this study measures of size structure and biomass, quantified using light microscopy and fluorometry, were used to estimate microcystin concentrations through linear regression analysis. Toxigenic profiles using cyanobacterial biomass were developed for lakes dominated by Microcystis spp. and Dolichospermum spp., influenced by both genus-specific pigment concentrations as well as microcystin concentrations. Community composition (Log %MIC) and biomass were used to describe microcystin concentrations in mixed assemblages, where composition was the first input variable. The accessory photopigment phycocyanin was used to describe the linear relationship between the daily growth and net microcystin production rates in the bloom-forming Microcystis spp. samples, suggesting that this size-fractionated sample may provide indications of potential toxigenicity in the whole lake water sample. Future investigations using fluorometric evaluation of cyanobacterial populations could provide additional applications and metrics for use by resource managers to quantify risk association with elevated cyanotoxin concentrations.