Hydrogen peroxide treatment promotes chlorophytes over toxic cyanobacteria in a hyper-eutrophic aquaculture pond

Controlling blooms of toxigenic phytoplankton, including cyanobacteria, is a high priority for managers of aquatic systems that are used for drinking water, recreation, and aquaculture production. Although a variety of treatment approaches exist, hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) has the potential to be an effective and ecofriendly algaecide given that this compound may select against cyanobacteria while not producing harmful residues. To broadly evaluate the effectiveness of H₂O₂ on toxigenic phytoplankton, we tested multiple concentrations of H₂O₂ on (1) four cyanobacterial cultures, including filamentous Anabaena, Cylindrospermopsis, and Planktothrix, and unicellular Microcystis, in a 5-day laboratory experiment and (2) a dense cyanobacterial bloom in a 7-day field experiment conducted in a nutrient-rich aquaculture pond. In the laboratory experiment, half-maximal effective concentrations (EC₅₀) were similar for Anabaena, Cylindrospermopsis, and Planktothrix (average EC₅₀ = 0.41 mg L^-1) but were ∼10x lower than observed for Microcystis (EC₅₀ = 5.06 mg L^-1). Results from a field experiment in an aquaculture pond showed that ≥1.3 and ≥ 6.7 mg L^-1 of H₂O₂ effectively eliminated Planktothrix and Microcystis, respectively. Moreover, 6.7 mg L^-1 of H₂O₂ reduced microcystin and enhanced phytoplankton diversity, while causing relatively small negative effects on zooplankton abundance. In contrast, 20 mg L^-1 of H₂O₂ showed the greatest negative effect on zooplankton. Our results demonstrate that H₂O₂ can be an effective, rapid algaecide for controlling toxigenic cyanobacteria when properly dosed.