Title
Species Composition and Colony Abundance of Cyanobacteria in Harmful Algal Blooms of Silver Lake, NY
Document Type
Poster
Publication Date
4-17-2019
Abstract
Cyanobacteria, commonly known as blue-green algae, are a phylum of photosynthetic bacteria that occur as small single cells or as conspicuous colonies of tens to thousands of cells. Due to their ability to produce harmful hepatotoxins and neurotoxin that pose a health hazard, threaten water supplies and hinder recreation, cyanobacteria are a concern in lakes world wide. Blooms of cyanobacteria, referred to as harmful algal blooms, or HABs, tend to occur in lakes with high nutrient levels, such as Silver Lake, NY. During the fall, 2018, samples were collected in Silver Lake and analyzed to determine the composition and abundance of cyanobacteria colonies. Between Sept.6 and October 4, colony numbers increased from 77 to 509 per mL and all other metrics of bloom biomass increased accordingly. The dominant species were in the frequently toxic genera Microcystis and Dolichospermum (formerly Anabaena) . Our project explores the factors that influence the growth of cyanobacteria, the species composition, and the concentration levels of cyanobacteria colonies.
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Recommended Citation
Leung, David; Cebulski, Dana; and Bosch, Isidro, "Species Composition and Colony Abundance of Cyanobacteria in Harmful Algal Blooms of Silver Lake, NY" (2019). Papers, Posters, and Recordings. 29.
https://knightscholar.geneseo.edu/great-day-works/29