Abstract
Three Gorges Reservoir (TGR) was filled to the target water level for the first time in 2010 since the building of Three-Gorges Dam. The present study was carried out to investigate the influence of water storage process on phytoplankton density and microcystin-LR (MC-LR) concentration in Xiangxi Bay (XXB), a tributary of TGR. The results showed that the phytoplankton cell density varied from 51.5 × 105. L−1 to 121.25 × 105. L−1 and the mean value increased from the estuary to the upper part of XXB. The variation of phytoplankton cell density coincided with the variation of MC-LR equivalent concentrations which reach the highest concentration of 1.09 ± 0.35 µg. L−1 in impounding season. The study has provided an ideal model to investigate the MC-LR and relevant alga seasonal variation in a specific water body. Based on these findings, intensive attention should be paid to the water quality in the tributaries of TGR.
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