Spatial and temporal variability of cyanobacteria toxicity in Rhode Island urban ponds
(Book - Regular Print)

Thesis,MSES,Green Mountain College,2015

Includes bibliographical references.

This study is the first to identify variations in cyanobacteria concentrations over space and time in Rhode Island urban lakes. Two small lakes were sampled weekly throughout August and September 2014 at three separate locations. For Mashapaug Pond, but not Slacks Reservoir, a visible bloom was present for most of this sampling period. 100 mL samples were obtained, frozen, and analyzed using a direct-injection tandem quadrupole MS/MS detector for the presence of 10 microcystin variants and anatoxin-a in Mashapaug Pond and six microcystin variants in Slacks Reservoir. Samples at both lakes exceeded RI recreational criteria for microystin. The southern sampling station in Mashapaug Pond presented the highest concentrations of toxins followed by the northern pond while the western pond presented only minor concentrations. The current RI protocol for assessing cyanobacteria, performed only in response to visible blooms and only at one location, would not have reliably identified microcystin hazards found in this study.