Proliferation and anatoxin production of benthic cyanobacteria associated with canine mortalities along a stream-lake continuum

Proliferations of benthic cyanobacteria are increasingly in the public eye, with rising animal deaths associated with benthic rather than planktonic blooms. In early June 2021, two dogs died after consuming material on the shore of Shubenacadie Grand Lake, Nova Scotia. Preliminary investigations indicated anatoxins produced by benthic cyanobacterial mats were responsible for the deaths. In this study, we monitored the growth of a toxic benthic cyanobacterial species (Microcoleus sp.) along a stream-lake continuum where the canine poisonings occurred. We found that the species was able to proliferate in both lentic and lotic environments, but temporal growth dynamics and the predominant sub-species were influenced by habitat type, and differed with hydrodynamic setting, nutrient and sunlight availability. Toxin concentration was greatest in cyanobacterial mats growing in the oligotrophic lakeshore environment (maximum measured total anatoxins (ATXs) >20 mg·kg−1 wet weight). This corresponded with a shift in the profile of ATX analogues, which also indicated changing sub-species dominance along the stream-lake transition. [Display omitted] •Two Microcoleus species proliferated along a lotic-lentic continuum•Benthic mats growing in a stream were transported downstream, where they reestablished in an oligotrophic lake•Sub-species dominance varied between the stream and lake environments•Toxin concentrations were greatest in the oligotrophic lake environment