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Systems Biology Of Microcystis Blooms, Morgan Michelle Steffen

Doctoral Dissertations

Cyanobacterial harmful algal blooms (cHABs) degrade freshwater lakes worldwide. Accumulation of nuisance biomass and production of noxious secondary metabolites can result in an expansive impact on both lake ecology and the surrounding communities. The cHAB forming organism Microcystis aeruginosa is known to produce the toxin microcystin, a compound nicknamed “fast death factor,” which has been implicated in animal poisonings and human liver failure and cancers. M. aeruginosa inhabits a wide range of freshwater lakes around the world, such as Lake Erie (USA/Canada) and Lake Tai (Taihu, China), and is often a dominant member of bloom communities. Such systems are well-studied …

The Show Cave Of Diros Vs. Wild Caves Of Peloponnese, Greece - Distribution Patterns Of Cyanobacteria, Vasiliki Lamprinou, Daniel B. Danielidis, Adriani Pantazidou, Alexandra Oikonomou, Athena Economou-Amilli

International Journal of Speleology

The karst cave ‘Vlychada’of Diros, one of the oldest show caves in Peloponnese, sustains extended phototrophic biofilms on various substrata – on rocks inside the cave including speleothems, and especially near the artificial lighting installation (‘Lampenflora’). After a survey of the main abiotic parameters (Photosynthetically Active Radiation -PAR, Temperature -T, Relative Humidity -RH, Carbon Dioxide -CO₂) three clusters of sampling sites were revealed according to Principal Component Analysis (PCA): i) the water gallery section predominately influenced by CO₂, ii) the dry passages influenced by RH and PAR, and iii) the area by the cave exit at …

Growth Of The Marine Fish-Killing Phytoflagellate, Heterosigma Akashiwo Under Emerging Coastal Regimes: Temperature, Eutrophication And Ocean Acidification, Cayla M. Bronicheski

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Coastal oceans are fundamental to human economies, nutrition and recreation. Anthropogenic stressors have led to the acceleration of the nitrogen cycle, the accumulation of inorganic carbon in the earth’s atmosphere, the loss of UV-scavenging upper atmospheric ozone and the overall accumulation of deep elements from the earth’s crust to surface exposure. These changes have caused ocean acidification and eutrophication events in coastal waters and the impacts of these events on primary production and ocean biodiversity are not yet fully understood.

This study examined the effects of predicted future ocean conditions (salinity, temperature, reduced seawater pH and modified nitrogen supplies), on …

Effects Of Toxic Cyanobacteria (Microcystis Aeruginosa) On The Feeding And Reproduction Ecology Of The Copepod Eurytemora Affinis From Green Bay, Lake Michigan, Nicholas J. Barrett

Lawrence University Honors Projects

Toxic Cyanobacteria is known to be a bad food source to consumers as well as a main contributor to harmful algal blooms. This study investigates the feeding relationship between an invasive copepod in the Great Lakes system, Eurytemora affinis, and a toxic strain of cyanobacteria, Microcystis aeruginosa. E.affinis has been shown to feed on toxic cyanobacteria. By measuring the filtering rate, ingestion rate, egg production and offspring size between three different food conditions, we hope to gain insight into the effects of toxic cyanobacteria on the feeding and reproduction of this copepod. Food sources include a good green algal …