Effect of aeration on formation of cyanobacterial (Microcystis spp.) blooms

In order to study whether aeration will promote the occurrence of cyanobacterial (Microcystis spp.) blooms in aquaculture ponds, we conducted an experiment (a treatment group and a control group) in a greenhouse during summer, without sediment addition and three replicates of glass tanks. The control group was not aerated, but the treatment group was aerated with common aeration intensity for aquaculture ponds. Inorganic nitrogen and phosphorus nutrients were added to both the control and the treatment groups twice. The initial phytoplankton was dominated by green algae, then Microcystis gradually appeared in both two groups, and then became the most dominant species at later stage of the experiment (average wet mass of 36.28−75.81 mg·L^–1). The dissolved oxygen mass concentration in the control was significantly higher than that in the treatment (P<0.05); however, there was no significant difference between both groups (P>0.05), including chlorophylla, total algal wet mass, cyanobacteria wet mass, green algae wet mass, proportion of Microcystis to the total wet mass, as well as zooplankton contents. It is indicated that aeration disturbance in aquaculture ponds has no direct influence on the occurrence of Microcystis dominance, which can appear either at the presence or absence of aeration disturbance, and the aeration disturbance mainly changes the position of Microcystis colonies in the water column.