Cyanobacterial blooms in the central basin of Lake Erie: Potentials for cyanotoxins and environmental drivers

Chaffin, Justin D.; Mishra, Sachidananda; Kane, Douglas D.; Bade, Darren L.; Stanislawczyk, Keara; Slodysko, Kristen N.; Jones, K. W.; Parker, Eric M.; Fox, Erica L.

doi:10.1016/j.jglr.2018.12.006

Cited by 50 publications

(43 citation statements)

References 81 publications

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“…A similar study conducted during the early 2000s by Moon and Carrick (2007) showed that P was the primary limiting nutrient, and they also proposed that the central basin had been P-limited since P-abatement programmes were enacted in the early 1980s (DePinto, Young, & McIlroy, 1986). Collectively, this and previous studies indicate that central basin phytoplankton growth remained P-limited throughout the onslaught of numerous stressors including the Dreissena mussel invasion (Nicholls, Hopkins, & Standke, 1999), increasing summertime hypoxia (Zhou, Obenour, Scavia, Johengen, & Michalak, 2013), and the eastward spread of western basin cyanobacterial blooms (Chaffin et al, 2019;Michalak et al, 2013). TA B L E 4 Summary of results of nutrient enrichment experiments as the percentage of experiments that enrichment treatment resulted in significantly greater chl a concentration than the control and greater than the P-only enrichment as indicated by Tukey test and significantly lower nitrate concentration than the control and the P-only enrichment F I G U R E 3 Post-incubation chl a concentrations (bars) and phytoplankton biovolume (circles) of 12 enrichment experiments with both parameters were quantified.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 60%

“…To measure concentrations of total dissolved Fe, B, and Mo, 50-ml Falcon tubes were rinsed with two 10-ml aliquots of filtered sample and then filled with 50 ml of filtered sample. Total dissolved Fe, Mo, and B concentrations were determined on acidified (2.0% nitric acid) samples by ICP-MS (Xseries 2), as in Chaffin et al (2019). Field blanks were conducted every tenth sample to check for contamination due to sample handling, filtering, and storage.…”

Section: Sample Analysismentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The central basin of Lake Erie, which has been considered P limited (Moon & Carrick, 2007;Twiss, Gouvêa, Bourbonniere, McKay, & Wilhelm, 2005), commonly has blooms of the diazotrophic cyanobacterium Dolichospermum in late June to early July (Chaffin et al, 2019).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Dolichospermum and other N-fixing taxa are usually associated with N-depleted, P-rich waters (i.e., low N to P ratios) (Smith, 1983); however, Dolichospermum blooms in the central basin of Lake Erie occur in waters with high nitrate concentrations (>50 µmol/L) and low total P (<0.5 µmol/L total P; Chaffin et al, 2019). There are many other examples of Dolichospermum blooms in lakes with high N availability (as reviewed by Li, Dreher, and Li [2016]).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Nutrient addition effects on chlorophyll a, phytoplankton biomass, and heterocyte formation in Lake Erie’s central basin during 2014–2017: Insights into diazotrophic blooms in high nitrogen water

et al. 2020

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1. Phosphorus (P) usually is the primary limiting nutrient of phytoplankton biomass, but attention towards nitrogen (N) and trace nutrients, such as iron (Fe), has surfaced. Additionally, N-fixing cyanobacterial blooms have been documented to occur in N-rich, P-poor waters, which is counterintuitive from the paradigm that low N and high P promotes blooms. For example, Lake Erie's central basin has Dolichospermum blooms when nitrate concentrations are high, which raises questions about which nutrient(s) are selecting for Dolichospermum over other phytoplankton and why an N-fixer is present in high N waters? 2. We conducted a 4-year (2014-2017) study in Lake Erie's central basin to determine which nutrient (P, N, or trace nutrients such as Fe, molybdenum [Mo], and boron [B]) constrained chlorophyll concentration, phytoplankton biovolume, and nitrate assimilation using nutrient enrichment bioassays. The enriched lake water was incubated in 1-L bottles in a growth chamber programmed at light and temperatures of in situ conditions for 4-7 days. We also quantified heterocytes when N-fixing cyanobacteria were present. 3. Compared to the non-enriched control, the P-enriched (+P) treatment had significantly higher chlorophyll and phytoplankton biovolume in c. 75% of experiments. Combination enrichments of P with ammonium-N, nitrate-N, Fe, Mo, and B were compared to the +P treatment to determine secondary limitations. +P and ammonium-N and +P nitrate-N resulted in higher chlorophyll in 50% of experiments but higher phytoplankton biovolume in only 25% of experiments. These results show that P was the primary limiting nutrient, but there were times when N was secondarily limiting. 4. Chlorophyll concentration indicated N secondary limitation in half of the experiments, but biovolume indicated only N secondary limitation in 25% of the experiments. To make robust conclusions from nutrient enrichment bioassays, both chlorophyll and phytoplankton biovolume should be measured. 5. The secondary effects of Fe, Mo, and B on chlorophyll were low (<26% of experiments), and no secondary effects were observed on phytoplankton biovolume | 2155 CHAFFIN et Al.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 60%

Section: Sample Analysismentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Nutrient addition effects on chlorophyll a, phytoplankton biomass, and heterocyte formation in Lake Erie’s central basin during 2014–2017: Insights into diazotrophic blooms in high nitrogen water

et al. 2020

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“…Within the Great Lakes, previously described locations of blooms include Green Bay, Lake Michigan (Bartlett et al 2018), Saginaw Bay, Lake Huron (Millie et al 2008), and several locations in Lake Ontario including Bay of Quinte and Sodus Bay (Perri et al 2015). The western basin of Lake Erie supports the largest and best‐studied cyanobacterial bloom in the Great Lakes (Watson et al 2016) and blooms are also occurring in the central Lake Erie basin (Chaffin et al 2019). In all of these aforementioned Great Lakes blooms, watershed land‐use factors are involved.…”

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A first assessment of cyanobacterial blooms in oligotrophic Lake Superior

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Reinl

Lafrancois

et al. 2020

Limnology & Oceanography

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Lake Superior is often described as the most pristine of the Laurentian Great Lakes, but in the past decade Dolichospermum blooms have been observed. Land use in the adjacent watershed has not changed appreciably during this time, but the lake is warming and climatological variables correspond with presence of blooms. Blooms occurred only in relatively warm years as measured by degree days. Furthermore, the two largest blooms, in 2012 and 2018, occurred during years of especially extreme rainfall, providing coincidental evidence that intense storms provide nutrients or living propagules to the blooms from the watershed. Nearshore lake water in the narrow zone where blooms appear shows some riverine influence compared to water further offshore even in the absence of blooms. Nevertheless, water chemistry associated with the largest bloom in 2018 more closely resembled nonbloom nearshore lake water than river water, suggesting that blooms develop or at least persist outside of distinct river plumes. Concentrations of P and N during peak bloom density greatly exceeded any nonbloom lake or river waters, indicating that a buildup of phytoplankton biomass perhaps by floating and drifting to shore also is a significant factor in bloom occurrence. One potentially toxic substance (Anabaenopeptin A) was observed but at low concentration. At peak phytoplankton concentration, high seston C : P indicated severe P limitation while low C : N pointed against N limitation. If these newly observed blooms are indeed driven by temperature and rainfall as this evidence suggests, blooms may continue. Cyanobacterial blooms (defined as "a massive accumulation of cyanobacterial biomass, formed through growth, migration, and physical-chemical forces"; Tromas et al. 2017) are a significant and increasingly prevalent global water quality problem (Paerl and Otten 2013; Ho et al. 2019). Blooms of cyanobacteria are most often associated with eutrophic or

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First report about toxic cyanobacterial bloom occurrence in Lake Sevan, Armenia

et al. 2020

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Lake Sevan, Armenia, is the largest freshwater body in the Caucasus region. Cyanobacteria have become increasingly dominant in summer in Lake Sevan, reflecting the eutrophication of the lake and formed a massive bloom event in 2018. These recent observations mark the transition of this previously oligotrophic high mountain lake into an eutrophic lake with scum-forming cyanobacterial blooms. A bloom of Dolichospermum in July caused a sudden increase in chlorophyll-a concentrations up to, on average, 20 µg/L and a strong decrease in water transparency. The cyanobacterial genera Dolichospermum, Aphanizomenon, Anabaena, Cyanobium, and Synechococcus were detected by metagenomic analysis of the lake bacterioplankton. A qualitative and quantitative assessment of peptide-based secondary metabolites revealed the first detection of cyanotoxins in Lake Sevan. Ten types of microcystin congeners were found in Lake Sevan. The total concentration of microcystins in the phytoplankton varied from 0.34 to 2.49 µg/L. This first record of cyanotoxins in the largest lake in the Caucasus region calls for an urgent need for sustainable nutrient management and a systematic assessment of the ultimate causes that lead to the reoccurrence of scum-forming Cyanobacteria in this large Alpine lake.

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Cyanobacterial blooms in the central basin of Lake Erie: Potentials for cyanotoxins and environmental drivers

Cited by 50 publications

References 81 publications

Nutrient addition effects on chlorophyll a, phytoplankton biomass, and heterocyte formation in Lake Erie’s central basin during 2014–2017: Insights into diazotrophic blooms in high nitrogen water

Nutrient addition effects on chlorophyll a, phytoplankton biomass, and heterocyte formation in Lake Erie’s central basin during 2014–2017: Insights into diazotrophic blooms in high nitrogen water

A first assessment of cyanobacterial blooms in oligotrophic Lake Superior

First report about toxic cyanobacterial bloom occurrence in Lake Sevan, Armenia

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