Morphological and ecological characteristics of potentially toxic invasive cyanobacterium Sphaerospermopsis aphanizomenoides (Forti) Zapomelová, Jezberová, Hrouzek, Hisem, Reháková & Komárková (Nostocales, Cyanobacteria) in Serbia

Abstract

This study investigates the morphology and occurrence of the potentially toxic invasive cyanobacterium recently detected in Serbia, Sphaerospermopsis aphanizomenoides (Forti) (Zapomelová et al. 2010), in correlation with several environmental parameters. The presence of this species was recorded during warm months in three of four studied sites in the Ponjavica River. It was found in a community with invasive Cylindrospermopsis raciborskii (Woloszynska) (Seenayya and Subba Raju 1972) and Raphidiopsis mediterranea (Skuja 1937) in this small, shallow, eutrophic river, with slow water flow. The peak of its abundance was observed in August 2008(3.36 9 10 6 cell/ml). The proliferation of this cyanobacterium was caused by very high water temperatures at the beginning of the summer, which resulted in an increase in the biomass of this species in August. The blooms of S. aphanizomenoides often occur under nitrogen depletion due to the formation of heterocysts, but in our study, their number was in positive correlation with the concentration of total dissolved nitrogen at the end of the study period. However, PCA analysis, which included the whole study period, indicated that there is a negative correlation between these two parameters. According to this analysis, in this locality, the factors which control the formation of the akinetes of S. aphanizomenoides are both the concentration of phosphate in the water and temperature. The morphological characteristics (trichome length, dimensions of the vegetative cells, heterocysts and akinetes, and their position) of this species, first recorded in Serbia, were mainly in correlation with those from the Czech Republic. However, individuals of S. aphanizomenoides from Serbia have shown a greater range of morphological variability than previously recorded.

Domination of invasive Nostocales (Cyanoprokaryota) at 52°N latitude

“…So far, the most northern reports of a mass development of C. raciborskii have come from Lake Balaton (46–47°N) in Hungary (Padisák & Reynolds ) and Alte Donau (48°N) in Vienna, Austria (Donabaum et al ). The abundance of S. aphanizomenoides is usually low in temperate water bodies, although it has recently been reported as a subdominant from a river in Serbia (44°N; Jovanović et al ).…”

Algae in Shallow and Small Water Bodies of Serbia: A Frame for Species and Habitat Protection

“…What is evident at the beginning of the twenty-first century is an increase in the trophic status and a decrease in depth along with an increased amount of sludge. These conditions have led to more intense and long-lasting blooms of potentially toxic cyanobacteria during the summer, but with the retention of relatively high taxa richness, especially in green algae [61,62,[67][68][69][70].…”

“…Periodically, it was dominant in this ecosystem. Its detailed morphological and ecological properties were presented in Jovanović et al [70]. As previously mentioned, R. raciborskii was first recorded in the Slatina, but in the Ponjavica River its bloom was recorded for the first time in Serbia in 2008 [61,62].…”

New insights into the distribution of alien cyanobacterium Chrysosporum bergii (Nostocales, Cyanobacteria)

“…Reháková & Komárková was for the first time reported from lakes in Turkey and later considered as a bloom forming species in tropical and subtropical regions (de Figueiredo et al 2010;Cirés & Ballot 2016). Recent studies revealed its expansion toward temperate zone where it is commonly reported (Kaštovský et al 2010;Zapom elová et al 2012;Jovanovi c et al 2016;Budzy nska et al 2019).…”