Using total adenosine triphosphate (tATP) measurements for cyanobacterial bloom monitoring and response assessment during algaecide treatments

Faith A Kibuye; Husein Almuhtaram; Hongxia Lei; Arash Zamyadi; Ron Hofmann; Eric C Wert

doi:10.1016/j.watres.2024.121517

Using total adenosine triphosphate (tATP) measurements for cyanobacterial bloom monitoring and response assessment during algaecide treatments

Water Res. 2024 May 15:255:121517. doi: 10.1016/j.watres.2024.121517. Epub 2024 Mar 24.

Authors

Faith A Kibuye¹, Husein Almuhtaram², Hongxia Lei³, Arash Zamyadi⁴, Ron Hofmann², Eric C Wert⁵

Affiliations

¹ The Pennsylvania State University, Department of Ecosystem Science and Management, 319 Forest Resources Building, University Park, PA 16802, United States; Southern Nevada Water Authority P.O. Box 99954, Las Vegas, NV 89193-9954, United States. Electronic address: ffk5024@psu.edu.
² Department of Civil & Mineral Engineering, University of Toronto, 35 St George St, Toronto, ON, M5S 1A4, Canada.
³ City of Tampa Water Department, 7125N. 30th Street, Tampa, FL 33629, United States; Cobb County-Marietta Water Authority, 1170 Atlanta Industrial Dr, Marietta, GA 30066, United States.
⁴ Department of Civil Engineering, Monash University, Melbourne, Victoria 3800, Australia.
⁵ Southern Nevada Water Authority P.O. Box 99954, Las Vegas, NV 89193-9954, United States.

PMID: 38574613
DOI: 10.1016/j.watres.2024.121517

Abstract

Total adenosine triphosphate (tATP) was investigated for its potential as a rapid indicator of cyanobacterial growth and algaecide effectiveness. tATP and other common bloom monitoring parameters were measured over the growth cycles of cyanobacteria and green algae in laboratory cultures and examined at a drinking water source during an active bloom. Strong correlations (R²>0.78) were observed between tATP and chlorophyll-a in cyanobacteria cultures. tATP offered greater sensitivity by increasing two orders of magnitude approximately 7 d before changes in chlorophyll-a or optical density were observed in Lyngbya sp. and Dolichospermum sp. cultures. Increases in tATP per cell coincided with the onset of exponential growth phases in lab cultures and increase in cell abundance in field samples, suggesting that ATP/cell is a sensitive indicator that may be used to identify the development of blooms. Bench-scale trials using samples harvested during a bloom showed that tATP exhibited a clear dose-response during copper sulfate (CuSO₄) and hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) treatment compared to chlorophyll-a and cell counts, indicating that cellular production and storage of ATP decreases even when live and dead cells cannot be distinguished. During Copper (Cu) algaecide application at a reservoir used as a drinking water source, tATP and cell counts decreased following initial algaecide application; however, the bloom rebounded within 10 d showing that the Cu algaecide only has limited effectiveness. In this case, tATP was a sensitive indicator to bloom rebounding after algaecide treatments and correlated positively with cell counts (R²=0.7). These results support the use of tATP as a valuable complementary bloom monitoring tool for drinking water utilities to implement during the monitoring and treatment of cyanobacterial blooms.

Keywords: Algaecide treatment response; Cyanobacteria; Early warning monitoring; Green algae; Microcystis aeruginosa; Total adenosine triphosphate (tATP).