response of freshwater bloom-forming planktonic cyanobacteria to global warming and nutrient increase

Human activities stimulate changes in aquatic environment, promoting temperature rise and eutrophication. Disturbance in aquatic ecosystems lead to alterations in plankton communities and food web structure. Cyanobacteria, which are able to regulate their buoyancy, are adapted to low-light, high temperatures, are capable to store phosphorus and fix nitrogen, produce toxins, which help to acquire competitive traits over other phytoplankton species. So, increasing temperature and loadings of nutrients in lakes stimulate successful proliferation of cyanobacteria and heavy bloom formation. Usually higher temperature ( 20ºC) and lower N:P mass ratio determine the dominance of cyanobacteria species in lakes and this is expected to increase in the future.