Persistent phytoplankton bloom in Lake St. Lucia (iSimangaliso Wetland Park, South Africa) caused by a cyanobacterium closely associated with the genus Cyanothece (Synechococcaceae, Chroococcales).

ABSTRACT: Lake St. Lucia, iSimangaliso Wetland Park, South Africa, is the largest estuarine lake in Africa. Extensive use and manipulation of the rivers flowing into it have reduced freshwater inflow, and the lake has also been subject to a drought of 10 years. For much of this time, the estuary has been closed to the Indian Ocean, and salinities have progressively risen throughout the system, impacting the biotic components of the ecosystem, reducing zooplankton and macrobenthic biomass and diversity in particular. In June 2009, a bloom of a red/orange planktonic microorganism was noted throughout the upper reaches of Lake St. Lucia. The bloom persisted for at least 18 months, making it the longest such bloom on record. The causative organism was characterized by light and electron microscopy and b

SUBMITTER: Muir DG 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3165424 | biostudies-literature | 2011 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature