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Harmful Algal Blooms: Dominance In Lakes And Risk For Cyanotoxin Exposure In Food Crops, Austin D. Bartos
Harmful Algal Blooms: Dominance In Lakes And Risk For Cyanotoxin Exposure In Food Crops, Austin D. Bartos
All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023
Climate change and human activities are promoting the dominance of a photosynthetic family of aquatic bacteria, cyanobacteria. Blooms of cyanobacteria are not only a visual nuisance but can produce a variety of cyanotoxins than can harm the liver, skin, and nervous system of animals and humans. We analyzed lakes in the contiguous United States and found that between 2007 and 2012, the number of lakes that produced measurable quantities of cyanotoxins increased from 33% to 45%. Nitrogen and phosphorus pollution were the main drivers of cyanobacteria blooms and toxin production between these years. Many of these lakes and reservoirs are …