ABSTRACT
Algal blooms have been a persistent problem for Florida’s fresh and marine waters often due to the indiscriminate agricultural use of nitrogen and phosphorus rich fertilizers, poor water and land management practices and inadequate waste water treatment methods (Philips et al. 2005). The profuse growth of algae on the surface of waters not only increases turbidity, particulate matter and the production of taste and odor causing compounds in water, but blocks sunlight and kills submerged vegetation and fi sh which also reduces species diversity within the water body (Fleming and Stephan 2001). When the algal cells fi nally begin to lyse, some species release their toxic cell metabolites directly into the water body (Metcalf and Codd 2004). These metabolites, referred to as cyanotoxins, are potentially dangerous to many organisms, including humans (Codd et al. 1997; WHO 1999).
