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Keywords

Utah Lake, cyanobacteria, cyanotoxins

Abstract

Understanding cyanobacterial nutrient requirements and toxin production will help the Utah Department of Environmental Quality control toxic algal blooms on Utah Lake. Cyanobacteria’s primary nutrient needs include phosphorous (P) and nitrogen (N). Despite the fact that some cyanobacteria species can fix their own N, many still prefer utilizing easily accessible nitrogen sources (Dolman et al., 2012). Thus, explaining why both P and N can limit or accelerate cyanobacterial proliferation (Dolman et al., 2012). As it turns out, cyanobacteria nutrient needs are particularly complex. One purpose of this study is to detail the multifaceted N and P nutrient requirements of the cyanobacteria in Utah Lake.

Cyanotoxins are harmful to human health (liver and nuero-toxins), but also have numerous functional roles regarding cyanobacterial proliferation, including nutrient sequestering, signaling, and defense. Cyanotoxin production has been linked to both nutrient rich and nutrient deficient environments (Horst et al., 2014). This study will examine the multifaceted relationship between cyanotoxin production and nutrient resources.

Document Type

Poster

Publication Date

2020-04-03

Language

English

College

Life Sciences

Department

Microbiology and Molecular Biology

University Standing at Time of Publication

Senior

Utah Lake's Cyanobacteria Proliferation and Toxin Production in Response to Nitrogen and Phosphorous Additions

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