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Abstract Microcystin poses a serious threat to aquatic ecosystems and human health. There is a pressing need to understand the production, movement, and storage of microcystin in lakes. We constructed a conceptual biogeochemical model for microcystin through a comprehensive literature synthesis, identifying four major pools and nine major fluxes in lakes that also connect to the terrestrial environment. This conceptual model can be used as the framework for developing ecosystem mass balances of microcystin. We propose that the concentration of microcystin in the water column is the balance between the import, sediment translocation, production and degradation, uptake, burial, and export. However, substantial unknowns remain pertaining to the magnitude and movement of microcystin. Future investigations should focus on sediment fluxes, drivers of biodegradation, and seasonal dynamics. Adopting the framework of a “microcystin cycle” improves our understanding of processes driving toxin prevalence and helps to prioritize strategies for minimizing exposure risks.
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Meta-analysis data for Microcystin as a Biogeochemical Cycle: pools, fluxes, and fates of the cyanotoxin in inland waters
We constructed a conceptual biogeochemical model for microcystin through a comprehensive literature synthesis, identifying four major pools and nine major fluxes in lakes that also connect to the terrestrial environment. We also performed a literature synthesis, collating measurements of various pools and fluxes of microcystin in inland waters from the literature. A subset of those values were used in an analysis of microcystin detection for field surveys of waterbodies and a random effects model to estimate the mean and 95% confidence interval for various microcystin pools and fluxes in lakes.
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- Award ID(s):
- 2200391
- PAR ID:
- 10660138
- Publisher / Repository:
- Environmental Data Initiative
- Date Published:
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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