Epilithic diatoms in the Upper Laja River Basin, Guanajuato, Mexico

This study investigates the epilithic diatoms from the Dolores and Laja Rivers, located within the Upper Laja River Basin, Guanajuato, Mexico. The samples were collected during the cold-dry (January) and rainy (October) seasons of 2011. One-hundred seventy three infrageneric taxa were identified, 7 of which are new records for Mexico: Fallacia monoculata, Hantzschia abundans, Navigiolum uruguayense, Neidium bisulcatum, Nitzschia solita, Planothidium incuriatum and Sellaphora bacilloides; it is worth mentioning that Navigiolum is a new record at the genus level. Furthermore, 3 species are new records for the state of Guanajuato: Gomphonema laticollum, G. subclavatum and Gomphosphenia lingulatiformis. Teratological forms of 6 species were also found in the sampling sites with higher nutrient concentrations, with relative abundances varying from 0.8 to 8.3%

Bioacumulación de cianotoxinas en ecosistemas dulceacuícolas en América Latina: una revisión

Background: The increasing evidence of risk to the environment and human health by cyanotoxin exposure during cyanobacterial blooms has been reported worldwide. Despite the knowledge of cyanotoxin presence in Latin America, cyanotoxin bioaccumulation from freshwater environments have not been reviewed for the region. Goals: To review the current knowledge of cyanotoxin accumulation in tissues of freshwater organisms in field studies in Latin America. Methods: An extensive literature search was conducted to construct a database including information on accumulation of cyanotoxins in organisms inhabiting freshwater environments in Latin America (i.e., México to Argentina). Results: We found twenty-one studies from 2001 to 2020, including twenty-seven mostly eutrophic water bodies, the majority from Brazil. Microcystis was the most reported genus responsible for cyanotoxin production. Fish comprised most of the species accumulating cyanotoxins (20 species). Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) was the most studied species, and 80% of the fish species included have commercial importance, which highlights a potential route of exposure to humans by consumption of contaminated food. Some studies showed the reduction of cyanotoxins in tissues after an experimental depuration time. Also, calculations of the potential human intakes of microcystins by fish consumption exceeded the recommendations of tolerable intakes in most of the cases. Conclusions: In Latin America, the geographic extent of studies is narrow, however the summarized information indicates a risk for environment and human health by cyanotoxins bioaccumulation. There is a need for more efforts to generate scientific research on cyanotoxins bioaccumulation, but also for improvement of local level management policies to reduce eutrophication.Antecedentes: La creciente evidencia de riesgo para el medio ambiente y la salud humana por la exposición a cianotoxinas durante las floraciones de cianobacterias se ha reportado en todo el mundo. A pesar del conocimiento de la presencia de cianotoxinas en América Latina, la bioacumulación de cianotoxinas en ambientes de agua dulce no ha sido revisada para la región. Objetivos: Revisar el conocimiento actual sobre la acumulación de cianotoxinas en tejidos de organismos de agua dulce en estudios de campo en América Latina. Métodos: Se realizó una extensa búsqueda bibliográfica para construir una base de datos que incluyera información sobre la acumulación de cianotoxinas en organismos que habitan ambientes de agua dulce en América Latina (de México a Argentina). Resultados: Encontramos veintiún estudios de 2001 a 2020, incluidos veintisiete cuerpos de agua en su mayoría eutróficos, la mayoría de Brasil. Microcystis fue el género productor de cianotoxinas más reportado. Los peces comprendieron la mayoría de las especies que acumulaban cianotoxinas (20 especies). Oreochromis niloticus fue la especie más estudiada, y el 80% de las especies de peces incluidas tienen importancia comercial, lo que destaca una vía potencial de exposición a los humanos. Algunos estudios demostraron la reducción de cianotoxinas en los tejidos después de un tiempo de depuración experimental. Además, los cálculos de las ingestas humanas potenciales de microcistinas por consumo de pescado excedieron las recomendaciones de ingestas tolerables en la mayoría de los casos. Conclusiones: En América Latina, los estudios se han realizado en pocos países, sin embargo, estos trabajos indican un riesgo para el medio ambiente y la salud humana por la bioacumulación de cianotoxinas. Se necesita más investigación científica sobre la bioacumulación de cianotoxinas, pero también esfuerzos para mejorar la gestión a nivel local con la finalidad de reducir la eutrofización

Diatomeas epilíticas como indicadores de la calidad del agua en la cuenca alta del río Lerma, México

The upper Lerma River is the most economically important basin of Mexico because it is the region where 80 % of the commercial activity of the country takes place, with 3500 industries, 750,000 Ha of irrigated land and 14 cities with populations over 100,000 inhabitants. Despite this relevance, little or no waste water treatment is done in the basin, which results in high contamination levels. The present paper deals with the taxonomy and ecology of epilithic diatoms collected at 11 sites in the basin in the dry and post-rainy seasons of the 2003-2005 period. This is the first study in an environmental direction of the diatoms of the upper Lerma River basin and the information generated will be used to propose, in the short-term, a Lerma River diatom index (IDL), supporting water quality monitoring programs. 178 taxa were recognized, of which 112 taxa (63%) were cosmopolitan or widely distributed. The genera with most species were Nitzschia (34), Navicula (19), Gomphonema (15), and Pinnularia (11). The dominant species in the studied locations and study period were Eolimna subminuscula (Manguin) Moser, Lange-Bertalot et Metzeltin, Gomphonema parvulum (Kützing) Kützing, Navicula veneta Kützing, Nitzschia capitellata Hustedt, N. sublinearis Hustedt, N. umbonata (Ehrenberg) Lange-Bertalot and Sellaphora pupula (Kützing) Mereschkowsky, which are characterized as tolerant to α-mesosaprobic to polysaprobic conditions, and to high nitrogen content. Trends in distribution of diatom species in the sampling sites were explained by variations in environmental parameters such as depth, conductivity, pH, temperature, and total dissolved solids.La cuenca alta del río Lerma es la más importante de México desde el punto de vista económico, ya que en ella ocurren el 80 % de las actividades comerciales del país, con 3500 industrias diversas, 750,000 hectáreas de tierras de riego y 14 ciudades con poblaciones de más de 100,000 habitantes. El escaso o nulo tratamiento de las aguas residuales, trae como consecuencia una elevada contaminación. Este trabajo abordó el estudio taxonómico y ecológico de diatomeas epilíticas colectadas en 11 localidades de ésta cuenca, entre los años 2003-2005. Se trata del primer estudio con una orientación ambiental que se realiza sobre diatomeas de la cuenca alta de este río, y la información generada permitirá proponer en el corto plazo un índice diatomológico para el Río Lerma (IDL), que posibilite emprender programas de monitoreo de la calidad del agua. Se reconocieron 178 especies, de las cuales 112 taxones (63 %) fueron de amplia distribución. Los géneros con mayor número de especies fueron Nitzschia (34), Navicula (19), Gomphonema (15) y Pinnularia (11). Las especies dominantes en las localidades de estudio y en las épocas de recolecta fueron Eolimna subminuscula (Manguin) Moser, Lange-Bertalot et Metzeltin, Gomphonema parvulum (Kützing) Kützing, Navicula veneta Kützing, Nitzschia capitellata Hustedt, N. sublinearis Hustedt, N. umbonata (Ehrenberg) Lange-Bertalot y Sellaphora pupula (Kützing) Mereschkowsky, que se caracterizan por ser tolerantes a condiciones α-mesosapróbicas a polisapróbicas con alto contenido de nitrógeno. La distribución de las especies de diatomeas fueron explicadas por las variaciones en parámetros como profundidad, conductividad, pH, temperatura y sólidos disueltos totales.Fil: Garcia Segura, Virginia. Universidad Michoacana de San Nicolas de Hidalgo; MéxicoFil: Cantoral Uriza, Enrique A.. Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico. Facultad de Ciencias; MéxicoFil: Israde, Isabel. Universidad Michoacana de San Nicolas de Hidalgo; MéxicoFil: Maidana, Nora Irene. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Departamento de Biodiversidad y Biología Experimental; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentin

La importancia ecológica de las algas en los ríos

After reviewing several studies, we set out a proposal regarding the structure and function of benthic algae in rivers. We use an approach that considers the ecology of communities, the role of benthic algae in the rivers autochthonous primary productivity and their eco-physiology in the biogeochemical cycles of the water, their energy intake in food webs, the role they play in the hydrological dynamics in lotic environments, and their use as biological indicators. Finally, pharmaceutical and food industry use of the species in these environments is reviewed.A través de una revisión de diversos estudios, se realiza un planteamiento de la estructura y función que tienen las algas bentónicas en los ríos, desde un punto de vista de la ecología de comunidades, la participación que tienen en la productividad primaria autóctona de los ríos y su ecofisiología, en los ciclos biogeoquímicos del agua, su aporte energético en las redes tróficas, la función que tienen en la dinámica hídrica de los ambientes lóticos, su uso como indicadores biológicos y se plantean algunos usos que se han realizado con especies de estos ambientes en la industria farmaceútica y alimenticia

Diatomeas epilíticas como indicadores de la calidad del agua en la cuenca alta del río Lerma, México

The upper Lerma River is the most economically important basin of Mexico because it is the region where 80 % of the commercial activity of the country takes place, with 3500 industries, 750,000 Ha of irrigated land and 14 cities with populations over 100,000 inhabitants. Despite this relevance, little or no waste water treatment is done in the basin, which results in high contamination levels. The present paper deals with the taxonomy and ecology of epilithic diatoms collected at 11 sites in the basin in the dry and post-rainy seasons of the 2003-2005 period. This is the first study in an environmental direction of the diatoms of the upper Lerma River basin and the information generated will be used to propose, in the short-term, a Lerma River diatom index (IDL), supporting water quality monitoring programs. 178 taxa were recognized, of which 112 taxa (63%) were cosmopolitan or widely distributed. The genera with most species were Nitzschia (34), Navicula (19), Gomphonema (15), and Pinnularia (11). The dominant species in the studied locations and study period were Eolimna subminuscula (Manguin) Moser, Lange-Bertalot et Metzeltin, Gomphonema parvulum (Kützing) Kützing, Navicula veneta Kützing, Nitzschia capitellata Hustedt, N. sublinearis Hustedt, N. umbonata (Ehrenberg) Lange-Bertalot and Sellaphora pupula (Kützing) Mereschkowsky, which are characterized as tolerant to α-mesosaprobic to polysaprobic conditions, and to high nitrogen content. Trends in distribution of diatom species in the sampling sites were explained by variations in environmental parameters such as depth, conductivity, pH, temperature, and total dissolved solids.La cuenca alta del río Lerma es la más importante de México desde el punto de vista económico, ya que en ella ocurren el 80 % de las actividades comerciales del país, con 3500 industrias diversas, 750,000 hectáreas de tierras de riego y 14 ciudades con poblaciones de más de 100,000 habitantes. El escaso o nulo tratamiento de las aguas residuales, trae como consecuencia una elevada contaminación. Este trabajo abordó el estudio taxonómico y ecológico de diatomeas epilíticas colectadas en 11 localidades de ésta cuenca, entre los años 2003-2005. Se trata del primer estudio con una orientación ambiental que se realiza sobre diatomeas de la cuenca alta de este río, y la información generada permitirá proponer en el corto plazo un índice diatomológico para el Río Lerma (IDL), que posibilite emprender programas de monitoreo de la calidad del agua. Se reconocieron 178 especies, de las cuales 112 taxones (63 %) fueron de amplia distribución. Los géneros con mayor número de especies fueron Nitzschia (34), Navicula (19), Gomphonema (15) y Pinnularia (11). Las especies dominantes en las localidades de estudio y en las épocas de recolecta fueron Eolimna subminuscula (Manguin) Moser, Lange-Bertalot et Metzeltin, Gomphonema parvulum (Kützing) Kützing, Navicula veneta Kützing, Nitzschia capitellata Hustedt, N. sublinearis Hustedt, N. umbonata (Ehrenberg) Lange-Bertalot y Sellaphora pupula (Kützing) Mereschkowsky, que se caracterizan por ser tolerantes a condiciones α-mesosapróbicas a polisapróbicas con alto contenido de nitrógeno. La distribución de las especies de diatomeas fueron explicadas por las variaciones en parámetros como profundidad, conductividad, pH, temperatura y sólidos disueltos totales.Fil: Garcia Segura, Virginia. Universidad Michoacana de San Nicolas de Hidalgo; MéxicoFil: Cantoral Uriza, Enrique A.. Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico. Facultad de Ciencias; MéxicoFil: Israde, Isabel. Universidad Michoacana de San Nicolas de Hidalgo; MéxicoFil: Maidana, Nora Irene. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Departamento de Biodiversidad y Biología Experimental; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentin

Epilithic diatoms (Bacillariophyceae) as indicators of water quality in the Upper Lerma River, Mexico

The upper Lerma River is the most economically important basin of Mexico because it is the region where 80 % of the commercial activity of the country takes place, with 3500 industries, 750,000 Ha of irrigated land and 14 cities with populations over 100,000 inhabitants. Despite this relevance, little or no waste water treatment is done in the basin, which results in high contamination levels. The present paper deals with the taxonomy and ecology of epilithic diatoms collected at 11 sites in the basin in the dry and post-rainy seasons of the 2003-2005 period. This is the first study in an environmental direction of the diatoms of the upper Lerma River basin and the information generated will be used to propose, in the short-term, a Lerma River diatom index (IDL), supporting water quality monitoring programs. 178 taxa were recognized, of which 112 taxa (63%) were cosmopolitan or widely distributed. The genera with most species were Nitzschia (34), Navicula (19), Gomphonema (15), and Pinnularia (11). The dominant species in the studied locations and study period were Eolimna subminuscula (Manguin) Moser, Lange-Bertalot et Metzeltin, Gomphonema parvulum (Kützing) Kützing, Navicula veneta Kützing, Nitzschia capitellata Hustedt, N. sublinearis Hustedt, N. umbonata (Ehrenberg) Lange-Bertalot and Sellaphora pupula (Kützing) Mereschkowsky, which are characterized as tolerant to ?-me­so­saprobic to polysaprobic conditions, and to high nitrogen content. Trends in distribution of diatom species in the sampling sites were explained by variations in environmental parameters such as depth, conductivity, pH, temperature, and total dissolved solids

Are We Underestimating Benthic Cyanotoxins? Extensive Sampling Results from Spain

Microcystins (MCs) are potent hepatotoxins, and their presence in water bodies poses a threat to wildlife and human populations. Most of the available information refers to plankton, and much less is known about microcystins in other habitats. To broaden our understanding of the presence and environmental distribution of this group of toxins, we conducted extensive sampling throughout Spain, under a range of conditions and in distinct aquatic and terrestrial habitats. More than half of the tested strains were toxic; concentrations of the hepatotoxin were low compared with planktic communities, and the number of toxic variants identified in each sample of the Spanish strains ranged from 1–3. The presence of microcystins LF and LY (MC-LF and MC-LY) in the tested samples was significant, and ranged from 21.4% to 100% of the total microcystins per strain. These strains were only detected in cyanobacteria Oscillatoriales and Nostocales. We can report, for the first time, seven new species of microcystin producers in high mountain rivers and chasmoendolithic communities. This is the first report of these species in Geitlerinema and the confirmation of Anatoxin-a in Phormidium uncinatum. Our findings show that microcystins are widespread in all habitat types, including both aerophytic and endolithic peat bogs and that it is necessary to identify all the variants of microcystins in aquatic bodies as the commonest toxins sometimes represent a very low proportion of the total

Morphological study of Cyclotella choctawhatcheeana Prasad (Stephanodiscaceae) from a saline Mexican lake

BACKGROUND: Cyclotella choctawhatcheeana Prasad 1990 is a small centric diatom found in the plankton of water bodies with a wide range of salt concentrations. This paper describes the morphological features of the valve of C. choctawhatcheeana, from Alchichica lake, a hyposaline lake located in Central Mexico, and provides information about their ecology with respect to water chemistry and distribution in the water column along the annual cycle. Alchichica, and their neighbor lake Atexcac, are the only Mexican water bodies where C. choctawhatcheeana has been registered. RESULTS: Morphological differences were found with respect to the original description. The valves of C. choctawhatcheeana from Alchichica exceeded the diameter (5–12 μm) given for the type material (3.0–9.5 μm), and it does not forms or seldom forms short chains (2–3 cells) in contrast of up to 20 cell chains. Other difference was the presence of irregularly distributed small silica granules around the margin of the external view of the valve, meanwhile in Prasad's diagnosis a ring of siliceous granules is present near the valve margin; all other features were within the range of variation of the species. Maximum densities (up to 3877 cells ml(-1)) of C. choctawhatcheeana were found in Alchichica lake from June to October, along the stratificated period of the lake. Low densities (48 cells ml(-1)) when the water column was mixed, in January and February. C. choctawhatcheeana of Lake Alchichica was found in an ample depth range from 20 m down to 50 m. Conductivity (K(25)) ranged between 13.3 and 14.5 mS cm(-1 )and the pH between 8.8 and 10.0. Water temperature fluctuated between 14.5 and 20°C. Dissolved oxygen ranged from anoxic (non detectable) up to saturation (7 mg l(-1)). CONCLUSION: The morphology of C. choctawhatcheeana from Alchichica corresponded to the original description, with exception of some secondary traits. C. choctawhatcheeana can grow in several different environmental conditions. It can use nutrients along the water column during the mixing period in the lake. But when nutrients are scarce, C. choctawhatcheeana, can be located in very high densities, into a well defined depth layer of the lake, being an important contributor to the depth chlorophyll maximum (DCM). The species seems to be a small size but significant component of the phytoplankton in the saline Mexican lake Alchichica