# Advancing Knowledge on Cyanobacterial Blooms in Freshwaters
## 2 Contributions  
Despite the fact that the interest in cyanobacterial blooms is focused on lakes and reservoirs, where the cyanobacterial bloom presence is most intense, the role of Cyanobacteria in other natural or engineered ecosystems also attracting scientific interest. One such case is presented by [PERSON] et al. [13], who provided a study where potentially toxic cyanobacteria dominate in aquaculture ponds and, thus, might affect the overall aquaculture production. The issue of deciphering the role of cyanobacterial blooms at the ecosystem level requires investigations both at the organism level (autoecology) and the community level (synecology), which can be approached by field and/or experimental works. [PERSON] et al. [10] provided an improved modeling approach on the role of turbulence mixing on the growth of _Microystis aeruginosa_ as a means of affecting differential nutrient transfer between this cyanobacterium and _Scenedesmus quadricauda_, frequently occurring chlorophyte in eutrophic freshwaters. Another autoecological approach is given by [PERSON] et al. [17]. In this study, the authors conducted experiments in order to evaluate the comparative effects of different light intensities on the growth and stress responses of two bloom-forming cyanobacterial species, _Pseudanabena galeata_ (strain NIES 512) and _Microystis aeruginosa_ (strain NIES 111) for a few days. Apart from the role of Cyanobacteria in previously understudied ecosystems, new ecophysiological roles are gaining momentum in cyanobacteria research, such as the role of cyanobacteria in methane cycling in the oxic waters of lakes [20]. In the current Special Issue, [PERSON] et al. [16] found that _Synechococcus_ was the most likely methane producer in nine Japanese lakes. The human, animal, and plant health risks associated with low ecological lake water quality and its subsequent toxic cyanobacterial blooms are showcased by [PERSON] et al. [15] in a Serbian lake with 50 years of persistent blooms of toxic cyanobacteria and considerable concentrations of toxins. This renders imperative not only the need for mitigating the existing problems but also the importance of righteous predictive approaches for future cyanobacterial blooms. Towards this direction, an integrated approach for the management of cyanobacterial blooms targeting the impacted ecological functions is presented by [PERSON] et al. [11]. In the fight against toxic cyanobacterial blooms, [PERSON] et al. [9] proved experimentally the oppressive effect of eight phenyl-acyl compounds in the growth of _Microystis aeruginosa_, and also the non-toxic effect of specific caffe acid concentrations in non-target zooplankton organisms, expanding, thus, the potential use of novel substances in cyanobacterial biomass reduction. The importance of hydrogeomorphological features in shaping cyanobacterial communities as subcommunities of the phytoplankton community was showcased in two papers of the current Special Issue. [PERSON] et al. [19] investigated a 2-year succession of cyanobacteria and eukaryotic phytoplankton functional groups in a reservoir, while [PERSON] et al. [14] used a system of two recently interconnected ancient lakes to show that this recent mode of water translocation between the two lakes increased the occurrence of potentially toxic and bloom-forming cyanobacteria. Another study with a dataset covering a whole decade between 2004 and 2014 reported that cyanobacteria constituted up to 60% of the primary producer biovolume, with increased dominance after 2010 [18]. The importance of phosphorus management was showcased by [PERSON] et al. [12], not only for cyanobacteria control but also for the \"satellite\" bacterial communities of a eutrophic lake, which, in total, might affect the biogeochemical functioning of the whole lake. Cyanobacteria are among these microorganisms that pose major health risks to humanity, but also, at least for some of them, they seem to be favored by our current climatic instability [21].