Blooms of cyanobacteria are a widespread problem in lakes and ponds. The best method to control cyanobacterial blooms is long-term reduction of nutrient loads. However, this is not possible in all situations. Therefore suitable curative methods are needed. A number of curative methods are already developed. These methods are not applicable or feasible in all situations due to for instance high material or energy costs or negative side effects. A new method, involving the addition of a mixture of naturally occurring substances (called Natural Pond), has proven to successfully inhibit the growth of cyanobacteria in preliminary tests (see fig 1). The precise mechanism of the inhibition of cyanobacterial growth is not known yet. The entrepreneurs developed a test with mini enclosures in which the effectiveness of this method was studied under different conditions. In this MSc thesis you will perform further research on this method.
The planned research will lead to a better understanding of:
- The effectiveness of this method to control cyanobacterial blooms.
- Under what conditions and with what dose of active ingredients, the method works best
- The working mechanism
- The applicability for various cyanobacterial species and/or water systems
This study will consist of two parts.
- Laboratory tests in order to determine the optimal dose of the product for reduction of cyanobacteria
- Field work: Treatment, water quality research, during and several weeks after application
Technical skills/methods:
- Field research
- Setting up experiments in the lab
- Techniques: microscopy, toxin analysis, HPLC, nutrient analysis etc.
