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Project properties |
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| Title | Elements of danger: The biological stoichiometry of toxin production by harmful algae and cyanobacteria |
| Group | Aquatic Ecology and Water Quality Management Group |
| Project type | internship |
| Credits | 24-36 |
| Supervisor(s) | Dr. Dedmer van de Waal |
| Examiner(s) | Prof Dr M Scheffer |
| Contact info | Edwin Peeters (AEW): edwin.peeters@wur.nl
Dr. Dedmer van de Waal (d.vandewaal@nioo.knaw.nl) |
| Begin date | 2013/04/15 |
| End date | 2013/11/15 |
| Description | Phytoplankton are of paramount importance in our lakes and oceans as they transform inorganic nutrients into organic compounds, by the use of light energy. In doing so, they provide food for the entire aquatic food web. Yet, it is not all healthy that is produced by these microbes, and many species are known to produce highly toxic compounds. For instance, saxitoxin is known to be 600 times more toxic as compared to cyanide!
Very notorious are toxins produced by freshwater cyanobacteria (blue-green algae), which make the water unsuitable for drinking, irrigation and recreation. In marine ecosystems, various dinoflagellate species may cause nuisance by their production of so-called paralytic shellfish poisoning toxins, which accumulate in shellfish making them unsuitable for consumption. The production of these toxins is known to depend on a wide range of environmental and biological factors, notably the elemental stoichiometry of the producers. Yet, it still remains to be elucidated what the exact drivers are, and how this may differ between species. |
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