Are you wondering if the cyanotoxins are accumulating and being transported within the food web? Have you wondered what role dissolved and/or particulate toxins play in this story. Beginning with the cyanobacteria (as a primary source), we’ve documented bioaccumulation, biomagnification and biodilution processes at different trophic levels including zooplankton, bivalves and fish (that are keystone forage species)
It’s all connected!! Ever consider how creatures that live in and near the water affect cyanobacteria? Would you believe that fish can influence bloom conditions and cyanotoxin concentrations? And those bivalves living in the lake bottom, what’s going on with them? Trophic influences (biotic variables) have been shown to be a major “driver” of lake water quality, with common abiotic variables (nutrients, temperature) playing secondary roles.
Using the cyanoCasting™Program, we have evaluated and verified this dynamic process, aquatic trophic cascades, using the methods and metrics in the approved QAPPs. Best of all, these methods can be easily used by citizen monitors as part of their monitoring program.
Are you interested in learning more about aerosols and the biotic variables that influence the process of aerosolization? An investigation of aerosols requires consideration of both dissolved and particulate cyanotoxins as well as the composition of the cyanobacterial and zooplankton populations. With the cyanoCasting™ Program, the proper sample collection, storage and processing methods can be followed to ensure informative and defensible results.
Our EPA approved QAPP for collection of particulate cyanotoxins and serial filtration provides the detailed sample collection and processing methods for picocyanobacteria. Single celled cyanobacteria <5µm in size are the predominant aerosolizable forms. See Serial Filtration for more information.
Nancy J. Leland, 2020
Nancy J. Leland, 2020
Nancy J. Leland , James F. Haney, Ryan A. Landon, 2020
Our Toxin Calculator estimates toxin concentrations and forecasts bloom conditions 7-10 days in advance of their appearance by using field data from over 150 sites across New Hampshire, New York and Massachusetts since 2015.
