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

Abstract

SUMMARY Invasive and alien cyanobacteria are considered as a serious threat to aquatic ecosystems due to their ability to produce cyanotoxins and outcompeting native species. Among cyanobacteria, Nostocales is a group with strong competitive advantages including the production of resting cells, ability to fix nitrogen or high affinity to phosphorus. A species Chrysosporum bergii has broadened its original distribution from brackish and seawater habitats of Caspian and Aral Seas to northern regions of Europe. The aim of our study was to expand the knowledge on the distribution of C. bergii, its preferred habitats in the invaded areas and examine whether the biomass of C. bergii is related with biomass of other alien or native cyanobacteria. We examined the phytoplankton community composition and the abiotic factors in randomly selected lakes of western Poland. For the first time, we showed that it occurs widely in lakes of this region. However, it occurred in one third of the investigated lakes and its contribution to total phytoplankton biomass was low. It occurred more frequently in shallow lakes with low conductivity and dissolved phosphorus, yet with higher total phosphorus concentration. The most remarkable finding was a negative relationship of C. bergii biomass with the biomass of native A. gracile, but a positive relationship with an invasive cyanobacterium C. raciborskii. This result suggests that these alien species occur under similar environmental conditions in Polish lakes. Moreover, the morphological features of C. bergii in Poland were similar to those of Anabaena bergii var. limnetica Couté et Preisig from Lithuania and Anabaena bergii from Czech Republic.

Interplay of Nutrients, Temperature, and Competition of Native and Alien Cyanobacteria Species Growth and Cyanotoxin Production in Temperate Lakes

“…Nutrient concentration and N:P ratio were not significant factors for C. bergii ( Table 1 ). Other studies indicated that C. bergii preferred low concentrations of inorganic phosphorus and the species was the most powerful competitor among Nostocales at moderate (19–20 °C) temperatures [ 24 , 44 ]. On the contrary, Savadova et al [ 29 ] revealed that the species has a preference for higher (26–30 °C) temperatures.…”

“…According to Savadova et al [ 29 ], S. aphanizomenoides tolerated a wide range of temperatures (20–30 °C), and growth rate was one of the highest between tested native and alien cyanobacteria. These abilities probably predetermined increased proliferation and dominance of the species in temperate lakes [ 23 , 24 , 26 ]. The current experiment revealed that S. aphanizomenoides was a superior competitor over P. agardhii under elevated nutrient concentrations at 24 °C, but not in the case of A. gracile, which may suppress the establishment of alien cyanobacteria in temperate lakes.…”

“…However, there is no evidence that alien species in Europe such as Raphidiopsis raciborskii can produce cyanotoxins [ 59 ]. Kokociński and Soininen [ 24 ] found a negative relationship between the native A. gracile biomass and the biomass of alien Chrysosporum bergii from field data analysis. Similarly, our experiment demonstrated a negative effect of STX producing A. gracile strain on other tested native P. agardhii and nontoxic alien cyanobacteria species isolated from the lakes in Lithuania.…”

“…However, due to climate change, the recent spread of alien cyanobacteria has put a great risk such that new competitive species may break the steady balance of native cyanobacteria dynamics and structure. The successful spread of Chrysosporum bergii and Sphaerospermopsis aphanizomenoides alien species in European temperate regions such as Poland [ 23 , 24 ], the Czech Republic [ 25 ], and Germany [ 26 ] in recent years has already been recognized. Lithuania is known as one of the most northern points for those cyanobacteria, and both species were detected in the shallow eutrophic lakes at low concentrations [ 27 , 28 , 29 , 30 ].…”

Development of Genus-Specific PCR Primers for Molecular Monitoring of Invasive Nostocalean Cyanobacteria

“…Members of the genera belonging to the order Nostocales of cyanobacteria have the advantages of producing dormant cells and fixing nitrogen. Some members of this order are Cylindrospermopsis spp., Sphaerospermopsis spp., Cuspidothrix spp., and Chrysosporum spp., which have been reported to invade new habitats in various environments [ 2 , 6 , 7 , 8 ]. These invasive nostocalean cyanobacteria are filamentous organisms, which have some overlapping morphological characteristics with each other and with some non-invasive species.…”