The community structures of phytoplankton are important factors and indicators of lake water quality. Harmful algal blooms severely impact water supply, recreational activities and wildlife habitat. This study aimed to examine the phytoplankton composition and variations using microscopy, and identify harmful Cyanobacteria in weekly samples taken from four sites at Harsha Lake in southwest Ohio. Over the course of the summer in 2015, the phytoplankton of Harsha Lake consisted mainly of 13 taxa belonging to Bacillariophyta, Chlorophyta, Cryptophyta, Cyanobacteria, Dinophyta and Euglenophyta. Their significant successions started with Bacillariophyta and/or Chlorophyta, then bloomed with Cyanobacteria and ended with Chlorophyta and/or Dinophyta. Cyanobacteria members: Microcystis , Planktothrix , Dolichospermum , Aphanizomenon , Cylindrospermopsis , and Oscillatoria from the Cyanophyceae were identified to be dominant genera. These organisms varied spatially and temporally in similar patterns along with the variations of nutrients and formed the summer bloom with the total biomasses ranging from 0.01 to 114.89 mg L -1 with mean of 22.88 mg L -1 . M. aeruginosa and P. rubescens were revealed as the microcystin producers, while A. circinalis and Aphanizomenon sp. were identified as a saxitoxin producer through cloning and sequencing PCR products of mcyA , mcyE and sxtA genes. The biomasses of phytoplankton, Cyanobacteria and Microcystis were positively correlated to nutrients, especially to total nitrogen. The total ELISA measurement for microcystin positively correlated with Cyanobacteria (R 2 = 0.66, P < 0.0001), Microcystis (R 2 = 0.64, P < 0.0001) and phytoplankton (R 2 = 0.59, P < 0.0001). The basic information on the occurrence and biomasses of Cyanobacteria and total phytoplankton, and the analysis for toxic species, which were the first report for the inland water in Ohio, USA, will document the succession patterns of phytoplankton and toxin production over a season and provide data to predict risk occurrence to both human and ecological factors.
Havskum, H., Schlüter, L., Scharek, R., Berdalet, E. and Jacquet, S. (2004) Routine Quantification of Phytoplankton Groups—Microscopy or Pigment Analyses? Marine Ecology Progress Series, 273, 31-42. https://doi.org/10.3354/meps273031
Katsiapi, M., Moustaka-Gouni, M., Michaloudi, E. and Kormas, K.A. (2011) Phytoplankton and Water Quality in a Mediterranean Drinking-Water Reservoir (Marathonas Reservoir, Greece). Environmental Monitoring and Assessment, 181, 563-575. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-010-1851-3
Duan, H., Ma, R., Xu, X., Kong, F., Zhang, S., Kong, W., Hao, J. and Shang, L. (2009) Two-Decade Reconstruction of Algal Blooms in China’s Lake Taihu. Environmental Science & Technology, 43, 3522-3528. https://doi.org/10.1021/es8031852
Falconer, I.R. (2012) Algal Toxins in Seafood and Drinking Water. Elsevier.
Codd, G., Lindsay, J., Young, F., Morrison, L. and Metcalf, J. (2005) Harmful Cyanobacteria. Harmful Cyanobacteria, 1-23.
Francy, D.S., Graham, J.L., Stelzer, E.A., Ecker, C.D., Brady, A.M.G., Struffolino, P. and Loftin, K.A. (2015) Water Quality, Cyanobacteria, and Environmental Factors and Their Relations to Microcystin Concentrations for Use in Predictive Models at Ohio Lake Erie and Inland Lake Recreational Sites, 2013-14. US Geological Survey, 2328-0328.
Kasich, J., Butler, C., Zehringer, J. and Himes, L. (2012) State of Ohio Harmful Algal Bloom Response Strategy for Recreational Waters. Department of Health, Environmental Protection Agency and Department of Natural Resources.
Beaulieu, J.J., Smolenski, R.L., Nietch, C.T., Townsend-Small, A., Elovitz, M.S. and Schubauer-Berigan J.P. (2014) Denitrification Alternates between a Source and Sink of Nitrous Oxide in the Hypolimnion of a Thermally Stratified Reservoir. Limnology and Oceanography, 59, 495-506. https://doi.org/10.4319/lo.2014.59.2.0495
Chang, N.-B., Vannah, B.W., Yang, Y.J. and Elovitz, M. (2014) Integrated Data Fusion and Mining Techniques for Monitoring Total Organic Carbon Concentrations in a Lake. International Journal of Remote Sensing, 35, 1064-1093. https://doi.org/10.1080/01431161.2013.875632
Funk, J.M., Reutter, D.C. and Rowe, G.L. (2003) Pesticides and Pesticide Degradates in the East Fork Little Miami River and William H. Harsha Lake, Southwestern Ohio, 1999-2000. US Department of the Interior, US Geological Survey.
Wissel, B., Gaçe, A. and Fry, B. (2005) Tracing River Influences on Phytoplankton Dynamics in Two Louisiana Estuaries. Ecology, 86, 2751-2762. https://doi.org/10.1890/04-1714
Francy, D.S., Graham, J.L., Stelzer, E.A., Ecker, C.D., Brady, A.M.G., Pam, S. and Loftin, K.A. (2015) Water Quality, Cyanobacteria, and Environmental Factors and Their Relations to Microcystin Concentrations for Use in Predictive Models at Ohio Lake Erie and Inland Lake Recreational Sites, 2013-14. 2015-5120. Report, Reston.
Willen, E. (2000) Phytoplankton in Water Quality Assessment—An Indicator Concept. Hydrological and Limnological Aspects of Lake Monitoring 57:80. https://doi.org/10.1002/9780470511121.ch6
Beaulieu, M., Pick, F. and Gregory-Eaves, I. (2013) Nutrients and Water Temperature Are Significant Predictors of Cyanobacterial Biomass in a 1147 Lakes Data Set. Limnology and Oceanography, 58, 1736-1746. https://doi.org/10.4319/lo.2013.58.5.1736
Beaulieu, J.J., Smolenski, R.L., Nietch, C.T., Townsend-Small, A. and Elovitz, M.S. (2014) High Methane Emissions from a Midlatitude Reservoir Draining an Agricultural Watershed. Environmental Science & Technology, 48, 11100-11108. https://doi.org/10.1021/es501871g
Thorp, J.H. and Covich, A.P. (2009) Ecology and Classification of North American Freshwater Invertebrates. Academic Press.
Sun, J. and Liu, D. (2003) Geometric Models for Calculating Cell Biovolume and Surface Area for Phytoplankton. Journal of Plankton Research, 25, 1331-1346. https://doi.org/10.1093/plankt/fbg096
Tamura, K., Stecher, G., Peterson, D., Filipski, A. and Kumar, S. (2013) MEGA6: Molecular Evolutionary Genetics Analysis Version 6.0. Molecular Biology and Evolution, 30, 2725-2729. https://doi.org/10.1093/molbev/mst197
Jiang, Y., Xiao, P., Yu, G., Shao, J., Liu, D., Azevedo, S.M. and Li, R. (2014) Sporadic Distribution and Distinctive Variations of Cylindrospermopsin Genes in Cyanobacterial Strains and Environmental Samples from Chinese Freshwater Bodies. Applied and Environmental Microbiology, 80, 5219-5230. https://doi.org/10.1128/AEM.00551-14
Davis, T.W., Watson, S.B., Rozmarynowycz, M.J., Ciborowski, J.J., McKay, R.M. and Bullerjahn, G.S. (2014) Phylogenies of Microcystin-Producing Cyanobacteria in the Lower Laurentian Great Lakes Suggest Extensive Genetic Connectivity. PLoS ONE, 9, e106093. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0106093
Chen, Y., Qin, B., Teubner, K. and Dokulil, M.T. (2003) Long-Term Dynamics of Phytoplankton Assemblages: Microcystis-Domination in Lake Taihu, a Large Shallow Lake in China. Journal of Plankton Research, 25, 445-453. https://doi.org/10.1093/plankt/25.4.445
Rantala, A., Rajaniemi-Wacklin, P., Lyra, C., Lepistö, L., Rintala, J., Mankiewicz-Boczek, J. and Sivonen, K. (2006) Detection of Microcystin-Producing Cyanobacteria in Finnish Lakes with Genus-Specific Microcystin Synthetase Gene E (mcyE) PCR and Associations with Environmental Factors. Applied and Environmental Microbiology, 72, 6101-6110. https://doi.org/10.1128/AEM.01058-06
Jacoby, J.M., Collier, D.C., Welch, E.B., Hardy, F.J. and Crayton, M. (2000) Environmental Factors Associated with a Toxic Bloom of Microcystis aeruginosa. Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences, 57, 231-240. https://doi.org/10.1139/f99-234
Huang, J. (2016) Detecting the Spatial Patterns of Blue-Green Algae in Harsha Lake using Landsat 8 Imagery.
Abrantes, N., Antunes, S., Pereira, M. and Gonçalves, F. (2006) Seasonal Succession of Cladocerans and Phytoplankton and Their Interactions in a Shallow Eutrophic Lake (Lake Vela, Portugal). Acta Oecologica, 29, 54-64.
Reynolds, C. (1984) Phytoplankton Periodicity: The Interactions of Form, Function and Environmental Variability. Freshwater Biology, 14, 111-142. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2427.1984.tb00027.x
Paerl, H.W., Xu, H., McCarthy, M.J., Zhu, G., Qin, B., Li, Y. and Gardner, W.S. (2011) Controlling Harmful Cyanobacterial Blooms in a Hyper-Eutrophic Lake (Lake Taihu, China): The Need for a Dual Nutrient (N & P) Management Strategy. Water Research, 45, 1973-1983.
Jensen, J., Jeppesen, E., Olrik, K. and Kristensen, P. (1994) Impact of Nutrients and Physical Factors on the Shift from Cyanobacterial to Chlorophyte Dominance in Shallow Danish Lakes. Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences, 51, 1692-1699. https://doi.org/10.1139/f94-170
Kosten, S., Huszar, V.L., Bécares, E., Costa, L.S., Donk, E., Hansson, L.A., Jeppesen, E., Kruk, C., Lacerot, G. and Mazzeo, N. (2012) Warmer Climates Boost Cyanobacterial Dominance in Shallow Lakes. Global Change Biology, 18, 118-126. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2486.2011.02488.x
Zheng, Q.F., Sun, G.W., Li, J., Hou, Y.I. and Zhang, H. (2008) Research on Meteorological Condition Influencing Blue Algae Bloom in Tailake. Plateau Meteorology, S1.
Rinta-Kanto, J.M. and Wilhelm, S.W. (2006) Diversity of Microcystin-Producing Cyanobacteria in Spatially Isolated Regions of Lake Erie. Applied and Environmental Microbiology, 72, 5083-5085. https://doi.org/10.1128/AEM.00312-06
Hotto, A., Satchwell, M. and Boyer, G. (2007) Molecular Characterization of Potential Microcystin-Producing Cyanobacteria in Lake Ontario Embayments and Nearshore Waters. Applied and Environmental Microbiology, 73, 4570-4578. https://doi.org/10.1128/AEM.00318-07
Moisander, P.H., Lehman, P.W., Ochiai, M. and Corum, S. (2009) Diversity of Microcystis aeruginosa in the Klamath River and San Francisco Bay Delta, California, USA. Aquatic Microbial Ecology, 57, 19-31. https://doi.org/10.3354/ame01320
Steffen, M.M., Zhu, Z., McKay, R.M.L., Wilhelm, S.W. and Bullerjahn, G.S. (2014) Taxonomic Assessment of a Toxic Cyanobacteria Shift in Hypereutrophic Grand Lake St. Marys (Ohio, USA). Harmful Algae, 33, 12-18.
Davis, T.W., Bullerjahn, G.S., Tuttle, T., McKay, R.M. and Watson, S.B. (2015) Effects of Increasing Nitrogen and Phosphorus Concentrations on Phytoplankton Community Growth and Toxicity during Planktothrix Blooms in Sandusky Bay, Lake Erie. Environmental Science & Technology, 49, 7197-7207. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.5b00799