--- cited_by: - publication: /report/usgcrp-climate-human-health-assessment-2016/chapter/water-related-illnesses/finding/seasonal-geographic-changes-waternborne-illness-risk publication_type: finding reference: /reference/0ccd902c-2e71-4609-a8e8-67d8370f0042 - publication: /report/usgcrp-climate-human-health-assessment-2016 publication_type: report reference: /reference/0ccd902c-2e71-4609-a8e8-67d8370f0042 - publication: /report/usgcrp-climate-human-health-assessment-2016/chapter/water-related-illnesses publication_type: chapter reference: /reference/0ccd902c-2e71-4609-a8e8-67d8370f0042 contributors: - display_name: 'Editor : Brian A. Whitton (Durham University School of Biological and Biomedical Sciences) ' href: http://52.38.26.42:8080/contributor/20272.yaml id: 20272 organization: country_code: UK display_name: Durham University School of Biological and Biomedical Sciences identifier: durham-university-school-biological-biomedical-sciences name: Durham University School of Biological and Biomedical Sciences organization_type_identifier: academic type: organization url: https://www.dur.ac.uk/biosciences/ organization_uri: /organization/durham-university-school-biological-biomedical-sciences person: display_name: Brian A. Whitton first_name: Brian A. id: 11288 last_name: Whitton middle_name: ~ orcid: ~ type: person url: ~ person_id: 11288 person_uri: /person/11288 role_type_identifier: editor uri: /contributor/20272 description: "Cyanobacteria often account for a large and sometimes dominant fraction of phototrophic biomass and primary production in high latitude lakes, ponds, streams and wetlands. Picocyanobacteria are usually the most abundant photosynthetic cell type in the plankton of Arctic lakes and rivers, and in East Antarctic saline lakes they have been recorded at cell concentrations of up to 1.5 x 10 7 per mL. In striking contrast to their success in high latitude lakes, picocyanobacteria are generally absent or sparse in polar seas, with the exception of regions that receive advective inputs of picocyanobacteria from more favourable growth environments. Colonial bloomforming cyanobacteria are conspicuously absent from most polar freshwaters, but future climate change may favour their development in some areas via warmer temperatures for growth, more stable water columns that favour gas-vacuolate species and richer nutrient conditions as a result of more active catchment processes. Mat-forming cyanobacteria are a ubiquitous element of polar aquatic ecosystems including lakes, ponds, streams and seeps. These consortia of diverse microbial taxa often occur as benthic crusts and fi lms, and in some locations form luxuriant communities up to tens of cm in thickness. They have many biological features that make them well suited to life in the extreme polar environment, including tolerance of persistent low temperatures, freezethaw-cycles, high and low irradiances, UV-exposure and desiccation Cyanobacteria have existed for 3.5 billion years, yet they are still the most important photosynthetic organisms on the planet for cycling carbon and nitrogen. The ecosystems where they have key roles range from the warmer oceans to many Antarctic sites. They also include dense nuisance growths in nutrient-rich lakes and nitrogen-fixers which aid the fertility of rice-fields and many soils, especially the biological soil crusts of arid regions. Molecular biology has in recent years provided major advances in our understanding of cyanobacterial ecology. Perhaps for more than any other group of organisms, it is possible to see how the ecology, physiology, biochemistry, ultrastructure and molecular biology interact. This all helps to deal with practical problems such as the control of nuisance blooms and the use of cyanobacterial inocula to manage semi-desert soils. Large-scale culture of several organisms, especially 'Spirulina' (Arthrospira), for health food and specialist products is increasingly being expanded for a much wider range of uses. In view of their probable contribution to past oil deposits, much attention is currently focused on their potential as a source of biofuel." display_name: 'Ecology of Cyanobacteria II: Their Diversity in Space and Time' files: [] href: http://52.38.26.42:8080/book/80c1b4a3-128f-4abe-b72a-7f66475da776.yaml identifier: 80c1b4a3-128f-4abe-b72a-7f66475da776 in_library: ~ isbn: 978-94-007-3854-6 number_of_pages: 760 parents: - display_name: "Finding 6.1 of 'The Impacts of Climate Change on Human Health in the United States: A Scientific Assessment'" reference: /reference/0ccd902c-2e71-4609-a8e8-67d8370f0042 relationship: cito:isCitedBy uri: /report/usgcrp-climate-human-health-assessment-2016/chapter/water-related-illnesses/finding/seasonal-geographic-changes-waternborne-illness-risk - display_name: 'The Impacts of Climate Change on Human Health in the United States: A Scientific Assessment' reference: /reference/0ccd902c-2e71-4609-a8e8-67d8370f0042 relationship: cito:isCitedBy uri: /report/usgcrp-climate-human-health-assessment-2016 - display_name: "Chapter 6: Climate Impacts on Water-Related Illnesses (in 'The Impacts of Climate Change on Human Health in the United States: A Scientific Assessment')" reference: /reference/0ccd902c-2e71-4609-a8e8-67d8370f0042 relationship: cito:isCitedBy uri: /report/usgcrp-climate-human-health-assessment-2016/chapter/water-related-illnesses publisher: Springer Netherlands references: [] title: 'Ecology of Cyanobacteria II: Their Diversity in Space and Time' topic: ~ type: book uri: /book/80c1b4a3-128f-4abe-b72a-7f66475da776 url: http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-3855-3 year: 2012