Journal
HARMFUL ALGAE
Volume 71, Issue -, Pages 10-18Publisher
ELSEVIER SCIENCE BV
DOI: 10.1016/j.hal.2017.11.003
Keywords
Biocontrol; Cyanobacteria; Microcystin; Saxitoxin; Tropical reservoir; Zooplankton
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Funding
- Brazilian Council for Research and Development (CNPq) [471603/2012-0, 304237/2015-9]
- Fundacao de Amparo a Ciencia e Tecnologia do Estado de Pernambuco- Auxilio Mobilidade Discente (AMD/FACEPE) [0169-2.00/14]
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Zooplankton are important biocontrol agents for algal blooms in temperate lakes, while their potential in tropical and subtropical environments is not well understood. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the influence of increased zooplankton biomass on phytoplankton community and cyanotoxins (microcystins and saxitoxin) content of a tropical reservoir (Ipojuca reservoir, Brazil) using in situ mesocosms. Mesocosms consisted of 50 L transparent polyethylene bags suspended in the reservoir for twelve days. Phytoplankton populations were exposed to treatments having 1 (control), 2, 3 and 4 times the biomass of zooplankton found in the reservoir at the beginning of the experiment. Filamentous cyanobacteria such as Planktothrix agardhii and Cylindrospermopsis raciborskii were not negatively influenced by increasing zooplankton biomass. In contrast, the treatments with 3 and 4 times zooplankton biomass negatively affected the cyanobacteria Aphanocapsa sp., Chroococcus sp., Dolichospermum sp., Merismopedia tenuissima, Microcystis aeruginosa and Pseudanabaena sp.; the diatom Cyclotella meneghiniana; and the cryptophyte Cryptomonas sp. Total microcystin concentration both increased and decreased at different times depending on zooplankton treatment, while saxitoxin level was not significantly different between the treatments and control. The results of the present study suggest that zooplankton biomass can be manipulated to control the excessive proliferation of non filamentous bloom forming cyanobacteria (e.g. M. aeruginosa) and their associated cyanotoxins. (C) 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
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