Phytoplankton community and algal toxicity at a recurring bloom in Sullivan Bay, Kabetogama Lake, Minnesota, USA

Kabetogama Lake in Voyageurs National Park, Minnesota, USA suffers from recurring late summer algal blooms that often contain toxin-producing cyanobacteria. Previous research identified the toxin microcystin in blooms, but we wanted to better understand how the algal and cyanobacterial community cha...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Scientific reports 2019-11, Vol.9 (1), p.16129-11, Article 16129
Main Authors: Christensen, Victoria G, Maki, Ryan P, Stelzer, Erin A, Norland, Jack E, Khan, Eakalak
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Algae
Algal blooms
Bacterial Toxins - analysis
Bacterial Toxins - metabolism
Bays - chemistry
Community structure
Cyanobacteria
Cyanobacteria - classification
Cyanobacteria - genetics
Cyanobacteria - growth & development
Cyanobacteria - metabolism
Ecosystem
Ecosystem assessment
Harmful Algal Bloom
Lakes - chemistry
Marine Toxins - analysis
Marine Toxins - metabolism
Microcystins - analysis
Microcystins - metabolism
Minnesota
National parks
Nutrient sources
Phytoplankton
Phytoplankton - classification
Phytoplankton - genetics
Phytoplankton - growth & development
Phytoplankton - metabolism
Polymerase chain reaction
Sampling
Saxitoxin
Seasons
Toxicity
Water Pollutants - analysis
Water Pollutants - metabolism
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Summary:Kabetogama Lake in Voyageurs National Park, Minnesota, USA suffers from recurring late summer algal blooms that often contain toxin-producing cyanobacteria. Previous research identified the toxin microcystin in blooms, but we wanted to better understand how the algal and cyanobacterial community changed throughout an open water season and how changes in community structure were related to toxin production. Therefore, we sampled one recurring bloom location throughout the entire open water season. The uniqueness of this study is the absence of urban and agricultural nutrient sources, the remote location, and the collection of samples before any visible blooms were present. Through quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR), we discovered that toxin-forming cyanobacteria were present before visible blooms and toxins not previously detected in this region (anatoxin-a and saxitoxin) were present, indicating that sampling for additional toxins and sampling earlier in the season may be necessary to assess ecosystems and human health risk.
ISSN:2045-2322
2045-2322
DOI:10.1038/s41598-019-52639-y