Microcystins in planktonic and benthic food web components from Greenlandic lakes

Abstract

Abstract There is increasing global concern regarding the social, economic, human health, and environmental health implications of cyanotoxins. However, much of what we know about cyanotoxins comes from studies of temperate or tropical systems with conspicuous surface blooms of cyanobacteria. We measured the concentrations of microcystins (MCs), potent cyanotoxins produced by many cyanobacterial taxa, within lake food webs in southwestern Greenland. We detected MCs in six taxonomic groups of organisms and found that median MC concentrations in large (>50 µm) phytoplankton were an order of magnitude higher than benthic cyanobacteria (genus Nostoc) and two orders of magnitude higher than benthic grazers and consumers (snails, dytiscid larvae, and chironomid larvae). Microcystin concentrations generally decreased with increasing trophic position, suggesting that biomagnification does not occur in these lakes. We conclude that MCs are prevalent in multiple components of these Arctic aquatic food webs and that both benthic and pelagic taxa may be sources of MCs.

Keywords

• aquatic
• Arctic
• cyanobacteria
• cyanotoxins
• food webs