Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Tiny Drifters Amidst Global Change: Examining Environmental Drivers, Trophic Impacts, And Management Strategies Of Estuarine Plankton Communities In The Anthropocene, Taylor Nicole Dodrill

Dissertations and Theses

Plankton productivity supports estuarine food webs, and has been tied to the success of fisheries, macroinvertebrates, and cultured shellfish yields. Climate change and alterations to nutrient loads are thought to be influencing plankton assemblages, with toxin-producing harmful algal blooms (HABs) on the rise and nutritional quality of plankton declining globally. These shifts in plankton communities may contribute to low biomass yields and toxin-based closures of important fisheries. The objectives of this dissertation are to identify environmental drivers, trophic impacts, and management strategies to understand and respond to changing estuarine plankton communities. To address these objectives, I used a combination of …

Drivers And Dynamics Of Phytoplankton Communities And Harmful Algal Blooms In Mountain Lakes, Lara Stephanie Jansen

Dissertations and Theses

Harmful cyanobacterial blooms (cyanoHABs) are a complex and widespread disturbance in freshwater water bodies, impacting water quality for wildlife and human populations. While cyanobacteria often bloom in warm lakes impacted by human development like agriculture, blooms are increasingly reported in cooler waters with limited development in the surrounding watershed. As much of cyanoHAB research has focused on lakes in highly developed watersheds, the understanding of factors leading to cyanobacteria dominance and blooms in the absence of major development remains limited. Mountain lakes can serve as ideal systems to study bloom-forming cyanobacteria in watersheds with minimal development. In addition, mountain lakes …

Phytoplankton Community As An Indicator Of Cyanobacteria Harmful Algal Blooms In High Mountain Lakes, Victoria Elizabeth Avalos

Dissertations and Theses

Cyanobacteria blooms are a growing issue worldwide and can be harmful to both aquatic life and human health. Warm temperatures, nutrient loading, stable water columns, and selective grazing of zooplankton and phytoplankton can contribute to cyanobacteria bloom formation. In this study, I characterized the algal communities and water quality differences in two physiographically similar lakes with relatively little human influences, Odell and Crescent Lakes, Oregon, to better understand potential contributing factors to cyanobacteria harmful algal bloom formation (cyanobacteria bloom) in Odell Lake.

There are three hypotheses in this study:

1. If there was a cyanobacteria bloom in Odell Lake, but not …