Impact of green algae on the measurement of Microcystis aeruginosa populations in lagoon-treated wastewater with an algae online analyser

Abstract

Tests on the algae online analyser (AOA) showed that there was a strong direct linear correlation between cell density and in vivo Chl-a concentration for M. aeruginosa over the range of interest for a biologically treated effluent at a wastewater treatment plant (25,000–65,000 cells mL⁻¹, equivalent to a biovolume of 2–6 mm³L⁻¹). However, the AOA can provide an overestimate or underestimate of M. aeruginosa populations when green algae are present in the effluent, depending on their species and relative numbers. The results from this study demonstrated that the green algae (e.g., Euglena gracilis, Chlorella sp.) in the field phytoplankton population should be considered during calibration. In summary, the AOA has potential for use as an alert system for the presence of M. aeruginosa, and thus potentially of cyanobacterial blooms, in wastewater stabilization ponds.

Keywords:

• Cyanobacterial bloom
• lagoon-treated wastewater
• Chlorophyll a
• Fluorescence
• Microcystis aeruginosa
• algal online analyser

Acknowledgements

This research was funded by the Smart Water Fund Victoria, Australia (Project Number 62M-2026)