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. 2020 Oct 1;65(10):1824-1842.
doi: 10.1111/fwb.13532.

Toxic benthic freshwater cyanobacterial proliferations: Challenges and solutions for enhancing knowledge and improving monitoring and mitigation

Susanna A Wood  1 , Laura Kelly  1 , Keith Bouma-Gregson  2 , Jean Francois Humbert  3 , H Dail Laughinghouse 4th  4 , James Lazorchak  5 , Tara McAllister  6 , Andrew McQueen  7 , Katyee Pokrzywinski  7 , Jonathan Puddick  1 , Catherine Quiblier  8   9 , Laura A Reitz  10 , Ken Ryan  11 , Yvonne Vadeboncoeur  12 , Arthur Zastepa  13 , Timothy W Davis  10
Affiliations

Toxic benthic freshwater cyanobacterial proliferations: Challenges and solutions for enhancing knowledge and improving monitoring and mitigation

Susanna A Wood et al. Freshw Biol. .

Abstract

1. This review summarises knowledge on the ecology, toxin production, and impacts of toxic freshwater benthic cyanobacterial proliferations. It documents monitoring, management, and sampling strategies, and explores mitigation options. 2. Toxic proliferations of freshwater benthic cyanobacteria (taxa that grow attached to substrates) occur in streams, rivers, lakes, and thermal and meltwater ponds, and have been reported in 19 countries. Anatoxin- and microcystin-containing mats are most commonly reported (eight and 10 countries, respectively). 3. Studies exploring factors that promote toxic benthic cyanobacterial proliferations are limited to a few species and habitats. There is a hierarchy of importance in environmental and biological factors that regulate proliferations with variables such as flow (rivers), fine sediment deposition, nutrients, associated microbes, and grazing identified as key drivers. Regulating factors differ among colonisation, expansion, and dispersal phases. 4. New -omics-based approaches are providing novel insights into the physiological attributes of benthic cyanobacteria and the role of associated microorganisms in facilitating their proliferation. 5. Proliferations are commonly comprised of both toxic and non-toxic strains, and the relative proportion of these is the key factor contributing to the overall toxin content of each mat. 6. While these events are becoming more commonly reported globally, we currently lack standardised approaches to detect, monitor, and manage this emerging health issue. To solve these critical gaps, global collaborations are needed to facilitate the rapid transfer of knowledge and promote the development of standardised techniques that can be applied to diverse habitats and species, and ultimately lead to improved management.

Keywords: cyanotoxins; ecology; lakes; monitoring; risk assessment; rivers; toxin production.

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Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Number of publications on planktonic and benthic cyanobacteria each year since 1990. These data were obtained by searching the following databases: Web of Science Core Collection, Biological Abstracts, BIOSIS Citation Index, Derwent Innovation Index, KCI- Korean Journal Database, MEDINE, Russian Science Citation Index, and SciELO Citation Index. Keywords used are given in Table S1. The search field to display was set to topic and time span was set to all years. Create marked lists (function on web of science interface) was used to exclude duplicate results
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
Global distribution of reported cyanotoxin detections from benthic cyanobacteria
Figure 3.
Figure 3.
Image from an unmanned aerial vehicle of the Hutt River at Upper Hutt (New Zealand) showing a proliferation of Microcoleus autumnalis in January 2018. Image captured with a standard red-green-blue camera
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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