2002 phytoplankton community composition and cyanobacterial toxins in Lake Champlain, U.S.A

Heterogeneous spatial and temporal cyanobacterial distributions in Missisquoi Bay, Lake Champlain: An analysis of a 9 year data set

“…As the cyanobacterial blooms declined in late autumn, diatoms and cryptophytes again became dominant. Similar successional changes have been reported for Missisquoi Bay and in Lake Champlain generally by Levine et al (2012), McQuaid et al (2011), and Mihuc et al (2005, 2008. The large temporal and spatial variability in cyanobacterial distributions in Missisquoi Bay has also been illustrated by the analysis of satellite images from 2004 (Wheeler et al, 2012) and by cruise data from 2006 (Mihuc et al, 2008).…”

“…Recent exotic species invasions including the zebra mussel (Dreissena polymorpha) (Mihuc et al, 2005(Mihuc et al, , 2006(Mihuc et al, , 2012 and a zooplanktivorous fish, the alewife (Alosa pseudoharengus) (Mihuc et al, 2012) may also enhance cyanobacterial abundance in Missisquoi Bay although populations of mussels are relatively small so their impacts may be less severe than elsewhere (Smeltzer et al, 2012). An agricultural herbicide, atrazine has also been investigated as a possible factor favouring cyanobacteria in Missisquoi Bay, but the outcomes were inconclusive (Zananski et al, 2010).…”

“…A number of studies conducted on the phytoplankton of Lake Champlain have also included a consideration of cyanobacterial blooms within Missisquoi Bay (Mihuc et al, 2005(Mihuc et al, , 2006Watzin et al, 2006), with several concentrating on the blooms within the bay itself. Mihuc et al (2008) mapped cyanobacterial distributions across Missisquoi Bay during three cruises conducted during the summer of 2006 which illustrated a complex spatial distribution of these blooms, and Wheeler et al (2012) also found marked spatial and temporal differences in cyanobacterial distribution across the entire bay in 2004 using satellite data.…”

Mapping cyanobacterial blooms in Lake Champlain's Missisquoi Bay using QuickBird and MERIS satellite data

“…1), Missisquoi Bay (45.039°N, 73.128°W) is a shallow (mean depth = 2.8 m), eutrophic embayment 77.5 km 2 in area that has experienced toxic cyanobacterial blooms over the past decade (Mihuc et al, 2006;Mihuc et al, 2005). Increasingly declining water quality and severe restrictions on recreational and municipal use of bay waters has impacted the local economy and focused public, state, and provincial attention on water quality and watershed management concerns (LCBP, 2002, LCBP, 2010Missisquoi Bay Inter-Agency Advisory Committee -Montérégie, 2004;U.S.…”