Date of Award

2011

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelors

Department

Natural Sciences

First Advisor

McCord, Elzie

Keywords

Cyanobacteria, phytoplankton, algae, HAB, eutroplatication, celery fields

Area of Concentration

Biology

Abstract

Cyanobacteria are opportunistic phytoplankton that respond to changes in excess nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorous. Their presence in ecosystems is particularly important due to their role as primary producers but also in their potential to accumulate to toxic levels. The relationship between limiting ammonia, nitrate and phosphate and the size of cyanobacteria populations was investigated in the Celery Fields Storm Water Mitigation Area in Sarasota, FL, USA. Water samples were collected weekly for eight weeks from each of the three ponds that make up the Celery Fields. Regression analysis from the study showed no relationship between nutrient concentration and cyanobacteria cell densities. Major improvements to the study include increasing the study period to at least one hydrological cycle, using molecular data to identify species, and incorporating new cyanobacteria cell enumeration methods.

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