Abstract:Blooms of the cyanobacterium Microcystis threaten aquatic ecosystems. Protozoa grazing can control unicellular Microcystis populations; however, Microcystis blooms are composed of multicellular colonies that are thought to prevent grazing. We show that this is not so: the model ciliate Paramecium has an impact on Microcystis populations through grazing, even when large colonies occur, and this leads to a corresponding decrease in toxic microcystins. Notably, as the number of large colonies increased, Parameciu… Show more
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