Cyanobacterial blooms in Ontario, Canada: continued increase in reports through the 21st century

Favot, Elizabeth J.; Holeton, Claire; DeSellas, Anna M.; Paterson, Andrew M.

doi:10.1080/10402381.2022.2157781

Cited by 12 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 78 publications

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“…These provinces have seen significant increases in reported cyanobacterial blooms in recent years. [3][4][5] Locations were selected in each province that have a history of cyanobacterial blooms and are at risk of increased cyanobacterial blooms in the future. They are also popular destinations for various recreational water activities (eg, swimming, boating and kayaking) during the summer season.…”

Section: Methods and Analysis Study Settingmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…1 2 Unfortunately, harmful algal blooms in recreational freshwater bodies have become increasingly common in Canada in recent years, presenting health risks to recreational water users. [3][4][5][6] Harmful algal blooms can also lead to illness and death in wildlife and domestic animals, particularly dogs, which can be an early warning indicator for human illness risks. 7 8 Illnesses due to harmful algal blooms have been estimated to cost ~US$86 per case of mild severity, ~US$1000 per case of moderate severity and >US$10 000 per severe case.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Burden of recreational water illness due to exposure to cyanobacteria and their toxins in freshwater beaches in Canada: protocol of a prospective cohort study

Young,

Sanchez,

Sekerciouglu

et al. 2024

BMJ Open

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IntroductionCyanobacterial blooms are increasingly common in freshwater sources used for swimming and other recreational water contact activities in Canada. Many species of cyanobacteria can produce toxins that affect human and animal health, but there are limited data on the risk of illness associated with water contact at impacted beaches.Methods and analysisThis study will investigate the incidence of recreational water illness due to exposure to cyanobacterial blooms and their toxins in four targeted and popular freshwater beaches in Ontario, Manitoba and Nova Scotia, Canada. A prospective cohort design and One Health approach will be used. On-site recruitment of recreational water users will be conducted at two beaches per year during the summers of 2024 and 2025. The population of interest includes recreational water users of any age and their pet dogs. After enrolment, an in-person survey will determine beach exposures and confounding factors, and a 3-day follow-up survey will ascertain any acute illness outcomes experienced by participants or their dogs. The target sample size is 2500 recreational water users. Water samples will be taken each recruitment day and analysed for cyanobacterial indicators (pigments), cell counts and toxin levels. Bayesian regression analysis will be conducted to estimate the association with water contact, cyanobacterial levels and risks of different acute illness outcomes.Ethics and disseminationThis study has been approved by the Toronto Metropolitan University Research Ethics Board (REB 2023-461). Study results will be published in a peer-reviewed journal and as infographics on a project website.

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Section: Methods and Analysis Study Settingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Burden of recreational water illness due to exposure to cyanobacteria and their toxins in freshwater beaches in Canada: protocol of a prospective cohort study

Young,

Sanchez,

Sekerciouglu

et al. 2024

BMJ Open

Self Cite

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“…Canada, with over 900,000 lakes [12], holds the global record for lakes in a country and relies on these waterbodies for essential needs such as drinking water, crop irrigation, fishing, swimming, and boating. There are many urban lakes (>246 waterbodies) in Canada [13] already experiencing algal blooms and many more that will develop due to issues including anthropogenic inputs and climate change, although the degree to which the impact of climate change on the growth of Cyanobacteria is yet unknown. Canadian lakes and their watersheds face mounting challenges.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Climate Change Impacts on Water Temperatures in Urban Lakes: Implications for the Growth of Blue Green Algae in Fairy Lake

Bhatti,

Singh,

McBean

et al. 2024

Water

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Cyanobacteria, also known as blue-green algae, are photosynthetic bacteria that play a crucial role in aquatic ecosystems and are susceptible to changes in temperature. Hence, as global temperatures rise due to climate change, some Cyanobacterial species will thrive in warmer temperatures, which will result in increased blooms during the growing season. The MIKE-3 model is calibrated to existing (2022) conditions and is used to assess the impact of the RCP 4.5 scenario for the year 2050 in Fairy Lake (a shallow urban lake in Ontario). The simulations projected indicate that in 2050, in the central parts of Fairy Lake’s central basin, water temperatures will be above 20 °C for 2281 h compared to 2060 h in 2022. This situation indicates there will be a 10.7% increase in the duration of Cyanobacteria blooms in the central area of Fairy Lake. Similarly, in the northern area of Fairy Lake, the MIKE-3 model results indicate that surface temperature durations above 20 °C will increase from 1628 h to 2275 h for the year 2050, resulting in an additional 647 h of increased temperatures at the surface under RCP 4.5 scenario conditions. This situation indicates there will be a 39.7% increase in the duration of Cyanobacteria blooms in the northern portion of Fairy Lake. These modeling conditions indicate there will be significantly more habitat amenable to Cyanobacteria growth when surface water temperatures are above 20 °C, indicating substantial increases in the available growth time of Cyanobacteria due to climate change, all of which translate to major concerns caused by climate change.

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“…While climate warming and nutrient enrichment have been implicated in the recent upsurge in cyanobacterial bloom reports, the factors modulating cyanobacterial toxin production appear more complex and challenging to elucidate (Boopathi & Ki, 2014; Holland & Kinnear, 2013). There is a growing need to: (1) establish relationships between cyanobacterial toxin production and their environmental drivers to strengthen predictive capabilities for safeguarding freshwater resources and (2) determine if cyanobacterial‐associated risks are increasing in modern times or if these accounts are an artifact of enhanced monitoring practices, inflated by recent technological advancements in toxin analyses and public awareness (Favot et al, 2022; Hallegraeff et al, 2021; Merel et al, 2013).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Climate change amplifies the risk of potentially toxigenic cyanobacteria

Erratt

Creed

Lobb

et al. 2023

Global Change Biology

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Cyanobacterial blooms pose a significant threat to water security, with anthropogenic forcing being implicated as a key driver behind the recent upsurge and global expansion of cyanobacteria in modern times. The potential effects of land‐use alterations and climate change can lead to complicated, less‐predictable scenarios in cyanobacterial management, especially when forecasting cyanobacterial toxin risks. There is a growing need for further investigations into the specific stressors that stimulate cyanobacterial toxins, as well as resolving the uncertainty surrounding the historical or contemporary nature of cyanobacterial‐associated risks. To address this gap, we employed a paleolimnological approach to reconstruct cyanobacterial abundance and microcystin‐producing potential in temperate lakes situated along a human impact gradient. We identified breakpoints (i.e., points of abrupt change) in these time series and examined the impact of landscape and climatic properties on their occurrence. Our findings indicate that lakes subject to greater human influence exhibited an earlier onset of cyanobacterial biomass by 40 years compared to less‐impacted lakes, with land‐use change emerging as the dominant predictor. Moreover, microcystin‐producing potential increased in both high‐ and low‐impact lakes around the 1980s, with climate warming being the primary driver. Our findings chronicle the importance of climate change in increasing the risk of toxigenic cyanobacteria in freshwater resources.

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Cyanobacterial blooms in Ontario, Canada: continued increase in reports through the 21st century

Cited by 12 publications

References 78 publications

Burden of recreational water illness due to exposure to cyanobacteria and their toxins in freshwater beaches in Canada: protocol of a prospective cohort study

Burden of recreational water illness due to exposure to cyanobacteria and their toxins in freshwater beaches in Canada: protocol of a prospective cohort study

Climate Change Impacts on Water Temperatures in Urban Lakes: Implications for the Growth of Blue Green Algae in Fairy Lake

Climate change amplifies the risk of potentially toxigenic cyanobacteria

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