Pharmacology, Toxicology and Environmental Health Commons^™

Assessing Environmental Factors That Influence Cyanobacterial Blooms In Skinn Lake, Kloe Atwood

Honors Projects

Global lakes are experiencing an increase in toxic algal blooms that can be damaging to the environment. These blooms are caused by cyanobacteria, specifically a species called Planktothrix. Skinn Lake, in Ohio, is a location of a cyanobacterial bloom that is mainly populated by Planktothrix rubescens. This lake was further examined to identify the major toxin-producing bacteria and identify environmental microbes surrounding the bloom. When the data was examined it was found that the microbiomes of the lake greatly differed between the winter (bloom) months and the summer (non-bloom) months. This difference can be viewed within the nutrient analysis from …