Unprecedented toxic blooms of Microcystis spp. in 2019 in the Chowan River, North Carolina.

ABSTRACT: The Chowan River flows from southern Virginia through northeastern North Carolina and into the Albemarle Sound, a part of the second largest U.S. estuary. The Chowan, which serves as an important recreational area and provides critical nursery habitat for multiple vulnerable species, has garnered much attention in recent years due to recurrent cyanobacterial harmful algal blooms (cHABs) associated with microcystins (MCs). Here we document unprecedented toxic blooms of Microcystis spp. during summer and fall of 2019 with MC concentrations two to three orders above the recreational guidelines of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA, 2019). Based on 16S sequencing results in this study and previously published reports, the genus Microcystis emerged as a primary concern within the region.

SUBMITTER: Pierce E 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11647567 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature