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Effect of Mississippi River discharge plume on temporal and spatial variability of toxic cyanobacteria in an oligohaline estuary

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Abstract

Globally, estuaries are undergoing profound hydrological alterations due to changes in climate and flood management coincident with the increasing frequency of harmful algal blooms (HABs). In coastal Louisiana, the introduction of nutrient-rich Mississippi River water into Lake Pontchartrain Estuary supports the proliferation of toxic cyanobacterial blooms (CyanoHABs). In 2019, over 28 km3 of Mississippi River water was diverted into the estuary (volume of 6 km3) to prevent flooding of downstream communities. This study characterized the impact of this river input containing 38,000 + metric tons of bioavailable N and 2,300 + metric tons of bioavailable P on monthly biological measures of the water column including biomass of pelagic cyanobacteria and associated toxin production. The estuary was freshened for months due to the river pulses, which initially limited phytoplankton response due to high total suspended solids. There was a cyanobacterial bloom once the river pulse stopped, related to increased water residence time, clarity, and nutrient availability. Particulate toxin concentration correlated to cyanobacterial biomass but was non-linear. Once bioavailable N decreased, nitrogen-fixing Dolichospermum spp. became dominant. This research on CyanoHABs in Lake Pontchartrain Estuary can help provide a basis to predict the response of estuaries to large nutrient-loading events.

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The datasets generated during and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.

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Acknowledgements

We sincerely thank the editor and reviewers for taking the time to review our manuscript and providing constructive feedback to improve our manuscript. Support for this research was provided by LSU Discover (to Ms. Callie Snow) and Louisiana Sea Grant (AWD-001350, to Drs. John R. White and Sibel Bargu), We extend our thanks to Eddie Weeks for providing us with valuable support in the field as well as Jacob Cheng and James Anderson of the Wetland and Aquatic Biogeochemistry Laboratory for environmental and nutrient analyses. Monique Boudreaux, Lauren Lewellen, and Peter Mates are acknowledged for their significant support in the field and laboratory. The USGS and USACE are acknowledged for providing flow numbers and total discharge numbers for the openings of the Bonnet Carré Spillway.

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  1. Department of Oceanography and Coastal Sciences, College of the Coast and Environment, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA, 70803, USA

    Callie Snow, Sibel Bargu, Courtney Nicole Hammond, Matthew Hiatt & John R. White

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Snow, C., Bargu, S., Hammond, C.N. et al. Effect of Mississippi River discharge plume on temporal and spatial variability of toxic cyanobacteria in an oligohaline estuary. Hydrobiologia 851, 87–103 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10750-023-05322-3

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