Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Hepatotoxic Cyanobacterial Blooms In Louisiana's Estuaries: Analysis Of Risk To Blue Crab (Callinectes Sapidus) Following Exposure To Microcystins, Ana Cristina Garcia

LSU Master's Theses

The most common toxins detected following freshwater harmful algal blooms are microcystins, a group of hepatotoxins produced by cyanobacteria (e.g., Microcystis and Anabaena spp.). Preference for filter-feeding prey, including bivalves, makes the blue crab, Callinectes sapidus, vulnerable to microcystin contamination and makes the commercially important crab a potential vector of microcystins. I used a combination of field and laboratory studies to determine blue crab vulnerability to microcystin contamination and consequent impacts on crab physiology. Samples collected from a hyper-eutrophic freshwater lake, Lac des Allemands, Louisiana, were analyzed for cyanobacterial abundances and microcystins in surface water and blue crabs using light-microscopy …