Unialgal Blooms of Cyanobacteria in Oxidation Ponds of the King’s Royally Initiated Laem Phak Bia Environmental Research and Development Project, Thailand
Intense phytoplankton blooms often occur in the oxidation ponds of the Laem Phak Bia Environmental Research and Development Project (LERD Project) royally initiated by His Majesty the King in Petchburi Province, Thailand. It is of concern that the bloom phytoplankton species may produce toxins that...
Main Authors: | , |
---|---|
Format: | Article |
Language: | English |
Published: |
Thai Society of Higher Eduction Institutes on Environment
2016-07-01
|
Series: | EnvironmentAsia |
Subjects: | |
Online Access: | http://tshe.org/ea/pdf/vol9no2-18.pdf |
_version_ | 1811296447330516992 |
---|---|
author | Ratcha Chaichana Narouchit Dampin |
author_facet | Ratcha Chaichana Narouchit Dampin |
author_sort | Ratcha Chaichana |
collection | DOAJ |
description | Intense phytoplankton blooms often occur in the oxidation ponds of the Laem Phak Bia Environmental Research and Development Project (LERD Project) royally initiated by His Majesty the King in Petchburi Province, Thailand. It is of concern that the bloom phytoplankton species may produce toxins that can cause illness in both humans and wildlife. Therefore, the main objective of this study was to investigate the species composition and abundance of the phytoplankton that caused the blooms. We also determined environmental variables (water and sediment) that promoted rapid development and dense growth of phytoplankton from three oxidation ponds in March 2014. The results revealed that nutrient concentrations in all three ponds were exceptionally high (total phosphorus of 2.9 ± 241 0.8 mg/L and total nitrogen of 5.3±2.4 mg/L). Furthermore, the blooms of phytoplankton were regulated mainly by nitrogen as a limiting factor. Environmental variables such as a high pH (8.8±0.6) and dissolved oxygen (10.1±2 mg/L), and low transparency (0.2±0.0 m) indicated that the intense blooms (chlorophyll a concentration of 260.6±97 µg/L) occurred during this investigation. The results of the phytoplankton study showed that cyanobacteria were the major group of phytoplankton recorded. Spirulina platensis was the most abundant species (866,410 cells/L) and was composed of more than 90% of all phytoplankton abundances. S. platensis is a non-toxic producer and in fact has high nutritional value that may be beneficial to aquatic fauna. The internal nutrient sources from the sediment played a less important role in promoting the growth of phytoplankton since the levels of organic matter and nutrient contents were low. |
first_indexed | 2024-04-13T05:48:36Z |
format | Article |
id | doaj.art-8fad384b356147d6bcaa4d2cf14cb7f2 |
institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
issn | 1906-1714 |
language | English |
last_indexed | 2024-04-13T05:48:36Z |
publishDate | 2016-07-01 |
publisher | Thai Society of Higher Eduction Institutes on Environment |
record_format | Article |
series | EnvironmentAsia |
spelling | doaj.art-8fad384b356147d6bcaa4d2cf14cb7f22022-12-22T02:59:52ZengThai Society of Higher Eduction Institutes on EnvironmentEnvironmentAsia1906-17142016-07-019215015710.14456/ea.2016.19Unialgal Blooms of Cyanobacteria in Oxidation Ponds of the King’s Royally Initiated Laem Phak Bia Environmental Research and Development Project, ThailandRatcha Chaichana 0Narouchit Dampin 1Department of Environmental Technology and Management, Faculty of Environment, Kasetsart University, Bangkok, 10900 ThailandDepartment of Environmental Science, Faculty of Environment, Kasetsart University, Bangkok, 10900 ThailandIntense phytoplankton blooms often occur in the oxidation ponds of the Laem Phak Bia Environmental Research and Development Project (LERD Project) royally initiated by His Majesty the King in Petchburi Province, Thailand. It is of concern that the bloom phytoplankton species may produce toxins that can cause illness in both humans and wildlife. Therefore, the main objective of this study was to investigate the species composition and abundance of the phytoplankton that caused the blooms. We also determined environmental variables (water and sediment) that promoted rapid development and dense growth of phytoplankton from three oxidation ponds in March 2014. The results revealed that nutrient concentrations in all three ponds were exceptionally high (total phosphorus of 2.9 ± 241 0.8 mg/L and total nitrogen of 5.3±2.4 mg/L). Furthermore, the blooms of phytoplankton were regulated mainly by nitrogen as a limiting factor. Environmental variables such as a high pH (8.8±0.6) and dissolved oxygen (10.1±2 mg/L), and low transparency (0.2±0.0 m) indicated that the intense blooms (chlorophyll a concentration of 260.6±97 µg/L) occurred during this investigation. The results of the phytoplankton study showed that cyanobacteria were the major group of phytoplankton recorded. Spirulina platensis was the most abundant species (866,410 cells/L) and was composed of more than 90% of all phytoplankton abundances. S. platensis is a non-toxic producer and in fact has high nutritional value that may be beneficial to aquatic fauna. The internal nutrient sources from the sediment played a less important role in promoting the growth of phytoplankton since the levels of organic matter and nutrient contents were low.http://tshe.org/ea/pdf/vol9no2-18.pdfcyanobacteriaoxidation pondsphytoplanktonThailandwater quality |
spellingShingle | Ratcha Chaichana Narouchit Dampin Unialgal Blooms of Cyanobacteria in Oxidation Ponds of the King’s Royally Initiated Laem Phak Bia Environmental Research and Development Project, Thailand EnvironmentAsia cyanobacteria oxidation ponds phytoplankton Thailand water quality |
title | Unialgal Blooms of Cyanobacteria in Oxidation Ponds of the King’s Royally Initiated Laem Phak Bia Environmental Research and Development Project, Thailand |
title_full | Unialgal Blooms of Cyanobacteria in Oxidation Ponds of the King’s Royally Initiated Laem Phak Bia Environmental Research and Development Project, Thailand |
title_fullStr | Unialgal Blooms of Cyanobacteria in Oxidation Ponds of the King’s Royally Initiated Laem Phak Bia Environmental Research and Development Project, Thailand |
title_full_unstemmed | Unialgal Blooms of Cyanobacteria in Oxidation Ponds of the King’s Royally Initiated Laem Phak Bia Environmental Research and Development Project, Thailand |
title_short | Unialgal Blooms of Cyanobacteria in Oxidation Ponds of the King’s Royally Initiated Laem Phak Bia Environmental Research and Development Project, Thailand |
title_sort | unialgal blooms of cyanobacteria in oxidation ponds of the king s royally initiated laem phak bia environmental research and development project thailand |
topic | cyanobacteria oxidation ponds phytoplankton Thailand water quality |
url | http://tshe.org/ea/pdf/vol9no2-18.pdf |
work_keys_str_mv | AT ratchachaichana unialgalbloomsofcyanobacteriainoxidationpondsofthekingsroyallyinitiatedlaemphakbiaenvironmentalresearchanddevelopmentprojectthailand AT narouchitdampin unialgalbloomsofcyanobacteriainoxidationpondsofthekingsroyallyinitiatedlaemphakbiaenvironmentalresearchanddevelopmentprojectthailand |