Marine Biology Commons^™

Ammonium Recycling Supports Toxic Planktothrix Blooms In Sandusky Bay, Lake Erie: Evidence From Stable Isotope And Metatranscriptome Data, Justyna J. Hampel, Mark J. Mccarthy, Michelle Neudeck, George S. Bullerjahn, Robert Michael L. Mckay, Silvia E. Newell

Great Lakes Institute for Environmental Research Publications

Sandusky Bay, Lake Erie, receives high nutrient loadings (nitrogen and phosphorus) from the Sandusky River, which drains an agricultural watershed. Eutrophication and cyanobacterial harmful algal blooms (cyanoHABs) persist throughout summer. Planktothrix agardhii is the dominant bloom-forming species and the main producer of microcystins in Sandusky Bay. Non-N2 fixing cyanobacteria, such as Planktothrix and Microcystis, thrive on chemically reduced forms of nitrogen, such as ammonium (NH4+) and urea. Ammonium regeneration and potential uptake rates and total microbial community demand for NH4+ were quantified in Sandusky Bay. Potential NH4+ uptake rates in the light increased from June to August at all stations. …