What factors contribute to the growth of Microcystis?
Light intensity and temperature are the more important physical factors, and in many cases, an optimum level for these two factors has been observed. Nitrogen and phosphorus are the key chemical factors causing frequent occurrence of harmful algal blooms and microcystins production.
What causes Microcystis aeruginosa?
Algae proliferate in shallow, stagnant water, especially in hot, dry weather. Dead or dying algae form a thick blue-green scum on the water’s surface, and release the toxic principle, microcystins. Toxicity is caused by ingestion of algae-contaminated water.
How do you know if you have Microcystis?
Methods currently available for detection of microcystin include whole cell bioassay in mice that detect levels of 25–150 µg kg−1; MALDI-TOF, which is able to detect microcystin at levels of 1 µg L−1; and LC-MS and GC-MS, which are able to detect levels of 0.02 µg L−1 and 0.0043 µg L−1 respectively.
Is Microcystis aeruginosa harmful?
Aside from being a nuisance and a danger to fish and wildlife, a bloom of Microcystis aeruginosa may be harmful to humans during recreational water use, either through body contact, inadvertent ingestion, or inhalation of water droplets.
What environmental factors affect cyanobacteria?
Environmental factors that have been reported to enhance the ability of cyanobacteria to dominate the phytoplankton community include decreased availability of nitrogen, increased phosphorus concentrations, low total nitrogen to phosphorus ratios, reduced light availability (turbidity), warmer water temperatures.
How does Microcystis aeruginosa obtain energy?
Microcystis aeruginosa harnesses the energy from the sun through photosynthesis, producing oxygen that can be utilized by other organisms in the ecosystem. M. aeruginosa is unicellular with a cell wall that is composed of layers of lipopolysaccharides and peptidoglycan.
Is Microcystis aeruginosa algae?
Microcystis aeruginosa is a single-celled blue green alga, or cyanobacterium, that occurs naturally in surface waters.
What toxin does Microcystis produce?
Microcystin is a potent liver toxin and possible human carcinogen. Cyanotoxins can also kill livestock and pets that drink affected waters. Fish and bird mortalities have also been reported in water bodies with persistent cyanobacteria blooms.
What’s the meaning of Microcystis?
Definition of Microcystis : a genus of unicellular blue-green algae (family Chroococcaceae) forming irregularly shaped colonies within a common gelatinous envelope and including at least one species (M.
What does Microcystis aeruginosa eat?
Glyphosate metabolism Algal blooms of cyanobacteria thrive in the large phosphorus content of agricultural runoff. Besides consuming phosphorus, M. aeruginosa thrives on glyphosate, although high concentrations may inhibit it.
What temperature can cyanobacteria survive?
The general consensus is that the optimum growth temperature for cyanobacteria is higher than that for most algae. Paerl [38] reported the optimum temperature to be higher than 25°C, overlapping with that of green algae (27–32.8°C) but clearly differing from that of dinoflagellates (17–27°C) and diatoms (17–22°C).
Where is Microcystis aeruginosa found?
Microcystis aeruginosa is a bloom-forming cyanobacterium found in eutrophic water bodies worldwide. M. aeruginosa blooms usually occur in freshwater; however, they have also been reported to occur in brackish water.
Is Microcystis toxic?
Is Microcystis a phytoplankton?
Because they can form large surface blooms, they are thought to be able to outcompete other phytoplankton by monopolizing light in the photic zone. Microcystis spp. are also capable of strong uptake of phosphate and nitrogen; they are believed to strongly influence nitrogen to phosphorus ratios (N:P. ratio).
What promotes cyanobacteria growth?
Cyanobacteria require temperatures above 20°C for growth rates to be competitive with eukaryotic phytoplankton taxa, and above 25°C for growth rates to be competitive with diatoms. In addition, they require relatively high irradiances to grow at maximal growth rates.
Does algae grow better in warm or cold water?
Warming water temperature Toxic blue-green algae prefer warmer water. Warmer temperatures prevent water from mixing, allowing algae to grow thicker and faster. Warmer water is easier for small organisms to move through and allows algae to float to the surface faster.
What ions can lead to algal blooms?
Excess nitrogen and phosphorus cause an overgrowth of algae in a short period of time, also called algae blooms.
Does fertilizer cause algae blooms?
Algal blooms can be dramatic and are a result of excess nutrients from fertilizer, wastewater and stormwater runoff, coinciding with lots of sunlight, warm temperatures and shallow, slow-flowing water.
What happens if you swallow blue-green algae?
Swallowing water containing blue-green algae/microcystin may cause gastrointestinal symptoms such as stomach pain, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, severe headaches, and fever.