Toxic cyanobacteria in relation to sulfate, molybdenum, nitrogen and phosphorus in Alberta's shallow prairie lakes

Anderson, Susan Marie

Toxic cyanobacteria in relation to sulfate, molybdenum, nitrogen and phosphorus in Alberta's shallow prairie lakes

dc.contributor.advisor	Jackson, Leland J.
dc.contributor.author	Anderson, Susan Marie
dc.contributor.committeemember	Kinniburgh, David W.
dc.contributor.committeemember	Vamosi, Steven M.
dc.contributor.committeemember	Vamosi, Jana C.
dc.date	2019-06
dc.date.accessioned	2018-10-25T20:33:49Z
dc.date.available	2018-10-25T20:33:49Z
dc.date.issued	2018-10-19
dc.description.abstract	Cyanobacteria are characteristic of poor global water quality. They create a public health concern and threaten biodiversity, particularly when they produce toxins such as microcystins. It is poorly understood why cyanobacteria produce microcystins, or how cyanobacteria in shallow prairie lakes will respond to increased salinity under changing climate. To study the effects of variable sulfate concentrations on cyanobacteria and to elucidate environmental patterns of microcystin production, I sampled 25 shallow lakes over four months for total nitrogen (TN), dissolved inorganic nitrogen (DIN), total phosphorus (TP), soluble reactive phosphorus (SRP), sulfate, molybdenum, microcystins, and the cyanobacteria-specific pigments canthaxanthin, myxoxanthophyll and echinenone. There was a negative relationship between cyanobacteria pigment and sulfate, and a positive relationship between cyanobacteria pigment and molybdenum and total nitrogen. Microcystins positively correlated with cyanobacteria pigment and turbidity. When microcystin samples above 10 µg·L-1 were removed, microcystins correlated with TN:TP in June and July. My results suggest that increasing sulfate leads to less cyanobacteria pigment. With the prairies expected to get hotter and dryer in the future, shallow prairie lakes are likely to see less cyanobacteria as they increase in salinity. My results also indicate that higher cyanobacteria pigments correlate with higher microcystins. Although low TN:TP can lead to high microcystins, low TN:TP is not enough to differentiate between high and low microcystins. No thresholds were found in either analysis, meaning there was no evidence for a tipping point where sulfate limits cyanobacteria nor the existence of environmental triggers associated with microcystin production over the season.	en_US
dc.identifier.citation	Anderson, S. M. (2018). Toxic cyanobacteria in relation to sulfate, molybdenum, nitrogen and phosphorus in Alberta's shallow prairie lakes (Master's thesis, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada). Retrieved from https://prism.ucalgary.ca. doi:10.11575/PRISM/33226	en_US
dc.identifier.doi	http://dx.doi.org/10.11575/PRISM/33226
dc.identifier.uri	http://hdl.handle.net/1880/108919
dc.language.iso	eng
dc.publisher.faculty	Graduate Studies
dc.publisher.faculty	Science
dc.publisher.institution	University of Calgary	en
dc.publisher.place	Calgary	en
dc.rights	University of Calgary graduate students retain copyright ownership and moral rights for their thesis. You may use this material in any way that is permitted by the Copyright Act or through licensing that has been assigned to the document. For uses that are not allowable under copyright legislation or licensing, you are required to seek permission.
dc.subject	cyanobacteria
dc.subject	blue-green algae
dc.subject	shallow lakes
dc.subject	microcystins
dc.subject	sulfate
dc.subject	molybdenum
dc.subject.classification	Biology	en_US
dc.subject.classification	Ecology	en_US
dc.subject.classification	Limnology	en_US
dc.title	Toxic cyanobacteria in relation to sulfate, molybdenum, nitrogen and phosphorus in Alberta's shallow prairie lakes
dc.type	master thesis
thesis.degree.discipline	Biological Sciences
thesis.degree.grantor	University of Calgary
thesis.degree.name	Master of Science (MSc)
ucalgary.item.requestcopy	true