RECENT APPEARANCE OF CYLINDROSPEMOPSIS (CYANOBACTEIUA) IN FIVE HYPEREUTROPHIC FLORIDA LAKES1

ABSTRACT Observations of historical and recent phytoplankton samples from five hypereutrophic Florida lakes indicate that nitrogen‐fixing cyanobacteria in the genus Cylindrospermopsis Seenayya et Subba Raju have entered these water‐bodies sometime in the last 30 years. Cylindrospermopsis forms a year‐round bloom in one of the five lakes, dominates seasonally in another, and is at least at times an important component of the phytoplankton community in the remaining three. The increase in abundance of Cylindrospermopsis in Florida lakes could have implications for water management.