The Range of the Colonial Microcystis’ Biomass for Shift to Diatom Aggregates Under Aeration Mixing and Low Light

Abstract

In order to investigate non-cyanobacteria dominance succession from Microcystis blooms, particularly to diatom dominance, an experiment using varying colonial Microcystis biomasses expressed as bulk concentrations of 2.0, 4.0, 6.0, 8.0, 10.0, 12.0, 14.0, 16.0, 18.0, 20.0, 22.0, and 24.0 mL L−1 was undertaken under continuous aeration mixing in a greenhouse during a hot summer where shading had reduced light level by 97%. The results showed that the algal shift process was affected by the initial biomass of the colonial Microcystis, and the algal community diversified. When the Microcystis bulk concentration was between 2.0 and 16.0 mL L−1, the bloom became dominated by diatom Nitzschia palea, which aggregated on the mucilage sheathes of the Microcystis colonies. The diatom density at bulk concentration biomass of 2.0 mL L−1 reached a maximum at 2.8 × 105 cells mL−1 on day 27. When the bulk concentration was at 18.0–24.0 mL L−1, no diatom dominance appeared. The shift from a Microcystis bloom to diatom dominance was affected by the initial Microcystis biomass, and the most suitable bulk concentration biomass for colonial Microcystis was at 2–12 mL L−1, in which the chlorophyll-a level was about from 285 to 1714 μg L−1. The mechanism underlying this algal shift may be that the low light and nutrient levels in the Microcystis bloom promoted diatom aggregation growth on the mucilage sheaths of Microcystis colonies under continuous aeration mixing.