Growth and survival of cyanobacteria in water from blooming and nonblooming ponds under experimental conditions.

Abstract

Elucidating the causes of cyanobacterial bloom in continental inland waters is an urgent problem in freshwater biology. The following factors are now generally believed to induce cyanobacterial bloom [1]: a stable vertical stratification of the water column, a high water temperature and high illuminance above water, an enhanced phosphorus load, a total nitrogen to total phosphorus concentration ratio below 30 : 1, high concentrations of organic matter and microelements, and a low pressure from consumers (zooplankton). However, the presence of one or several of these factors does not guarantee the bloom (or its absence) in a given water basin.