STIMULATING EFFECT OF ANABAENA SP. (CYANOBACTERIA) EXUDATE ON PRYMNESIUM PARVUM (HAPTOPHYTA)1

Prymnesium parvum blooms have become more frequent in the south‐central United States, leading to significant ecological and economic impacts. Allelopathic effects from cyanobacteria were suggested as a mechanism that might limit the development of P. parvum blooms. This research focused on the effects of cultured cyanobacteria, Anabaena sp., on P. parvum. Over a 6‐d period, daily additions of filtrate from the senescent Anabaena culture were made to P. parvum cultures growing in log phase. All treatments, including several types of controls, showed reductions in P. parvum biomass over the course of the experiment, but the treatments receiving Anabaena filtrate were reduced to a lesser degree, suggesting that filtrate from the senescent cyanobacteria culture was beneficial to P. parvum in some way. This unexpected outcome may have resulted from stimulation of heterotrophic bacteria by the addition of Anabaena filtrate, which likely contained exudates rich in dissolved organic carbon compounds. P. parvum was then able to supplement its nutritional requirements for growth by feeding on the elevated bacteria population. These findings coupled to previous observations suggest that interactions between cyanobacteria and P. parvum in natural environments are complex, where both allelopathic and growth‐stimulating interactions are possible.