2016 Salt Lake County Watershed Symposium

Spatiotemporal Variability of Cyanobacterial Harmful Algal Blooms
Cyanobacteria cause a multitude of water-quality concerns, including potential production of taste-and-odor compounds and toxins. Taste-and-odor compounds cause malodorous or unpalatable drinking water and fish, resulting in increased treatment costs and loss of aquacultural and recreational revenue. Cyanotoxins have been implicated in human and animal illness and death in over fifty countries worldwide, including at least 36 U.S. States. The study of cyanobacteria and associated compounds presents several unique challenges. For example, 1) complex mixtures of cyanotoxins and taste-and-odor compounds are common in mixed-assemblage cyanobacterial blooms, 2) spatiotemporal variability is characteristic of blooms, and occurrence of cyanobacteria, cyanotoxins, and taste-and-odor compounds may vary substantially within relatively short distances and periods of time, and 3) relations between spatiotemporal dynamics and environmental conditions are unique to individual systems and are the complex result of the interactions between biological, physicochemical, and hydrologic factors. In the face of these challenges, continuous-water-quality monitors, remote sensing, genetic techniques, and in situ field experiments have supplemented traditional limnological studies. These new approaches have facilitated the development of tools to provide early warning systems for occurrence that guide management and public health decisions.