Horizontal distribution and transport processes of bloom-forming Microcystis in a large shallow lake (Taihu, China)

Abstract

a b s t r a c tThe horizontal distribution of bloom-forming Microcystis in a specific lake area and the transport of Microcystis by wind-driven lake currents between Meiliang Bay and the open water of Taihu Lake were measured during continuous field observations from August 21 to 25, 2006. During the observations, the horizontal distributions of Microcystis, represented by Chlorophyll a, showed a clear concentration toward downwind lake areas. According to the lake currents and the Chl a concentrations on the boundary line between the Meiliang Bay and the open water, the transported Chl a was less than 2% of the total weight of Chl a in Meiliang Bay on August 22, 24 and 25. The results suggest that the horizontal distribution of the bloom-forming Microcystis was strongly affected by the wind conditions, and the wind-driven Microcystis accumulation was mainly determined by surface drift; the transport of Microcystis by lake currents was much less important in this large, shallow lake.

Nitrate limitation and accumulation of dissolved organic carbon during a spring-summer cyanobacterial bloom in Lake Taihu (China)

“…The high phosphate levels in the present study probably resulted from the large cyanobacteira biomass but did not facilitate the bloom because no correlation was found between concentrations of Chl-a and phosphate during the spring-summer bloom (Wu et al 2010).…”

“…Cyanobacterial bloom occurs annually in late May or early June, and the large volume of cyanobacteria colonies is driven to the western and northern areas of Lake Taihu by the high frequency of southwest winds (Wu et al 2010). In the present study, surface water samples from Lake Taihu were obtained monthly from March to August 2010.…”

Sedimented cyanobacterial detritus as a source of nutrient for submerged macrophytes (Vallisneria spiralis and Elodea nuttallii): An isotope labeling experiment using 15N

“…In large eutrophic lakes, it is common for cyanobacterial scums to move horizontally (Ishikawa et al 2002;Wu et al 2010). In Lake Taihu, cyanobacterial blooms dominated by Microcystis are often found to be accumulated and trapped in macrophyte beds in the downwind areas as a result of wind actions (Wang et al 2006;Wu et al 2010).…”

Harmful algal bloom removal and eutrophic water remediation by commercial nontoxic polyamine-co-polymeric ferric sulfate-modified soils

“…Our results were mainly obtained under static laboratory conditions, which is far different from that in the wild field. For example, in the wild lakes as Lake Taihu in China, the wind and waves sometimes mix the water and algae cells fiercely, which could pose a complicate impact on algae flocculation dynamic and efficiency (Wu et al 2010). Thus, more environmental factors are still needed to be included in our future work.…”