Dr. Arthur Zastepa

Image Arthur Zastepa
Research Scientist

Chemical and microbial ecology of cyanobacterial and harmful algal blooms and their impacts in large inland waters.

Current research and/or projects

Contributing to Environment and Climate Change Canada’s mandate to ensure aquatic ecosystems are conserved and protected. Contributing to Water Science and Technology Branch by conducting research on drivers and effects of cyanobacterial and harmful algal blooms.

 

    Education and awards

    N.S.E.R.C. Visiting Fellowships in Canadian Government Laboratories

    Ph.D., Chemical and Environmental Toxicology Program, Department of Biology, University of Ottawa. Thesis: Fate and Persistence of Microcystin Congeners in Lakes and Lake Sediments (2014).

    Hon. B.Sc. Laboratory Medicine and Pathobiology (minor Analytical Chemistry), University of Toronto (2006)

    Key publications

    McKay, R.M., Frenken, T., Diep, N., Cody, W.R., Crevecoeur, S., Dove, A., Drouillard, K.G., Ortiz, X., Wintermute, J., Zastepa, A.
    Bloom announcement: An early autumn cyanobacterial bloom co-dominated by Aphanizomenon flos-aquae and Planktothrix agardhii in an agriculturally-influenced Great Lakes tributary (Thames River, Ontario, Canada)
    (2020) Data in Brief, 30, art. no. 105585, .
    https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-85083860786&doi=10.1016%2fj.dib.2020.105585&partnerID=40&md5=6a34c43032484c6855b047d0fa5a9a89

    Favot, E.J., Hadley, K.R., Paterson, A.M., Michelutti, N., Watson, S.B., Zastepa, A., Hutchinson, N.J., Vinebrooke, R.D., Smol, J.P.
    Using visible near-infrared reflectance spectroscopy (VNIRS) of lake sediments to estimate historical changes in cyanobacterial production: potential and challenges
    (2020) Journal of Paleolimnology, .
    https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-85087495780&doi=10.1007%2fs10933-020-00140-2&partnerID=40&md5=6fbeac3c4c456d4c3a1778681c4b4e56

    Wood, S.A., Kelly, L.T., Bouma-Gregson, K., Humbert, J.-F., Laughinghouse, H.D., IV, Lazorchak, J., McAllister, T.G., McQueen, A., Pokrzywinski, K., Puddick, J., Quiblier, C., Reitz, L.A., Ryan, K.G., Vadeboncoeur, Y., Zastepa, A., Davis, T.W.
    Toxic benthic freshwater cyanobacterial proliferations: Challenges and solutions for enhancing knowledge and improving monitoring and mitigation
    (2020) Freshwater Biology, .
    https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-85086262963&doi=10.1111%2ffwb.13532&partnerID=40&md5=5096f6defecfad8567002a6bd1a76c6e

    Li, J., Plouchart, D., Zastepa, A., Dittrich, M.
    Picoplankton accumulate and recycle polyphosphate to support high primary productivity in coastal Lake Ontario
    (2019) Scientific Reports, 9 (1), art. no. 19563, .
    https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-85076928545&doi=10.1038%2fs41598-019-56042-5&partnerID=40&md5=31f14fc07a1e34f004d369e5ba3fcaa1

    Taranu, Z.E., Pick, F.R., Creed, I.F., Zastepa, A., Watson, S.B.
    Meteorological and nutrient conditions influence microcystin congeners in freshwaters
    (2019) Toxins, 11 (11), art. no. 620, .
    https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-85074960097&doi=10.3390%2ftoxins11110620&partnerID=40&md5=0ef5731c92dcdbfcefa233820efd0227

    Kelly, N.E., Javed, A., Shimoda, Y., Zastepa, A., Watson, S., Mugalingam, S., Arhonditsis, G.B.
    A Bayesian risk assessment framework for microcystin violations of drinking water and recreational standards in the Bay of Quinte, Lake Ontario, Canada
    (2019) Water Research, 162, pp. 288-301.
    https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-85068384713&doi=10.1016%2fj.watres.2019.06.005&partnerID=40&md5=050541eb27fd18c7a309537449af1db1

    Markovic, S., Liang, A., Watson, S.B., Depew, D., Zastepa, A., Surana, P., Byllaardt, J.V., Arhonditsis, G., Dittrich, M.
    Reduction of industrial iron pollution promotes phosphorus internal loading in eutrophic Hamilton Harbour, Lake Ontario, Canada
    (2019) Environmental Pollution, 252, pp. 697-705.
    https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-85066941139&doi=10.1016%2fj.envpol.2019.05.124&partnerID=40&md5=2314d94593a4e27f42cfc4b6898de06f

    Binding, C.E., Zastepa, A., Zeng, C.
    The impact of phytoplankton community composition on optical properties and satellite observations of the 2017 western Lake Erie algal bloom
    (2019) Journal of Great Lakes Research, 45 (3), pp. 573-586.
    https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-85057028466&doi=10.1016%2fj.jglr.2018.11.015&partnerID=40&md5=149d85f44857b2b7e70ec52113cc5fff

    Pilon, S., Zastepa, A., Taranu, Z.E., Gregory-Eaves, I., Racine, M., Blais, J.M., Poulain, A.J., Pick, F.R.
    Contrasting histories of microcystin-producing cyanobacteria in two temperate lakes as inferred from quantitative sediment DNA analyses
    (2019) Lake and Reservoir Management, 35 (1), pp. 102-117.
    https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-85063885944&doi=10.1080%2f10402381.2018.1549625&partnerID=40&md5=71fc565d62ff97712849a3bd7b8a9b00

    Prater, C., Frost, P.C., Howell, E.T., Watson, S.B., Zastepa, A., King, S.S.E., Vogt, R.J., Xenopoulos, M.A.
    Variation in particulate C : N : P stoichiometry across the Lake Erie watershed from tributaries to its outflow
    (2017) Limnology and Oceanography, 62, pp. S194-S206.
    https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-85025082166&doi=10.1002%2flno.10628&partnerID=40&md5=4a4f24516d1bcfab79530b50d4ce55a5

    Zastepa, A., Pick, F.R., Blais, J.M.
    Distribution and flux of microcystin congeners in lake sediments
    (2017) Lake and Reservoir Management, 33 (4), pp. 444-451.
    https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-85033663600&doi=10.1080%2f10402381.2017.1362491&partnerID=40&md5=85464fc8a4e46464e8c486a6e004fd67

    Zastepa, A., Watson, S.B., Kling, H., Kotak, B.
    Spatial and temporal patterns in microcystin toxins in Lake of the Woods surface waters
    (2017) Lake and Reservoir Management, 33 (4), pp. 433-443.
    https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-85033725296&doi=10.1080%2f10402381.2017.1384415&partnerID=40&md5=b293ffd1f38ad103e9cad6b368c43eba

    Watson, S.B., Zastepa, A., Boyer, G.L., Matthews, E.
    Algal bloom response and risk management: On-site response tools
    (2017) Toxicon, 129, pp. 144-152.
    https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-85014052849&doi=10.1016%2fj.toxicon.2017.02.005&partnerID=40&md5=980b164f2263c601c5eaa205c86d0221

    Zastepa, A., Taranu, Z.E., Kimpe, L.E., Blais, J.M., Gregory-Eaves, I., Zurawell, R.W., Pick, F.R.
    Reconstructing a long-term record of microcystins from the analysis of lake sediments
    (2017) Science of the Total Environment, 579, pp. 893-901.
    https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-85006968246&doi=10.1016%2fj.scitotenv.2016.10.211&partnerID=40&md5=14c9630ba73c6d5e16b77d2db460d876

    Zastepa, A., Pick, F.R., Blais, J.M., Saleem, A.
    Analysis of intracellular and extracellular microcystin variants in sediments and pore waters by accelerated solvent extraction and high performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry
    (2015) Analytica Chimica Acta, 872, pp. 26-34.
    https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-84928214015&doi=10.1016%2fj.aca.2015.02.056&partnerID=40&md5=f53d019253977d4e13f7862880280f0a

    Zastepa, A., Pick, F.R., Blais, J.M.
    Fate and Persistence of Particulate and Dissolved Microcystin-LA from Microcystis Blooms
    (2014) Human and Ecological Risk Assessment, 20 (6), pp. 1670-1686.
    https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-84898667243&doi=10.1080%2f10807039.2013.854138&partnerID=40&md5=1d5c5376b925e5b9db484ea230e26bc4

    Twiss, M.R., Ulrich, C., Zastepa, A., Pick, F.R.
    On phytoplankton growth and loss rates to microzooplankton in the epilimnion and metalimnion of Lake Ontario in mid-summer
    (2012) Journal of Great Lakes Research, 38 (SUPPL.4), pp. 146-153.
    https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-84869125800&doi=10.1016%2fj.jglr.2012.05.002&partnerID=40&md5=d5cde8afa3a70b408161047aba97a72c

    Sidiropoulos, K.G., Zastepa, A., Adeli, K.
    Translational control of apolipoprotein B mRNA via insulin and the protein kinase C signaling cascades: Evidence for modulation of RNA-protein interactions at the 5′UTR
    (2007) Archives of Biochemistry and Biophysics, 459 (1), pp. 10-19.
    https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-33847129241&doi=10.1016%2fj.abb.2006.11.003&partnerID=40&md5=2cbc2a54b4180478fdd29eb84bdc7308