Wednesday, April 29th 2026
Blooms do like it hot: Causes, Consequences, and Control of Tropical Algal Blooms
Dr. Cihelio Alves Amorim, University of Continuing Education Krems and WasserCluster Lunz, Austria
Abstract: Although algae and cyanobacteria are essential components of aquatic food webs, they can form blooms that significantly threaten freshwater biodiversity. In the tropics, despite being less researched than temperate regions, these blooms can become more intense and are often amplified by short-term climate anomalies (seasonal to interannual fluctuations). Our previous research examined how physical, chemical, and biological factors influence algal blooms, particularly cyanobacterial blooms in Brazil. We also studied how these blooms affect water quality, plankton diversity, and ecosystem functions. Additionally, our work showed that biomanipulation using submerged macrophytes can effectively control toxic cyanobacteria. Extensive lab experiments suggest that long-term coexistence between submerged plants and cyanobacteria can select for strains that are adapted to and tolerant of macrophyte-produced allelochemicals. During the talk, I will briefly present additional research on the salinization of shallow lakes in Türkiye and on plankton biodiversity in Austrian fishponds.