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First report of a microcystin‐containing bloom of the cyanobacterium Microcystis aeruginosa in the La Plata River, South America
Author(s) -
De Leon Lizet,
Yunes João S.
Publication year - 2001
Publication title -
environmental toxicology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.813
H-Index - 77
eISSN - 1522-7278
pISSN - 1520-4081
DOI - 10.1002/1522-7278(2001)16:1<110::aid-tox1012>3.0.co;2-z
Subject(s) - microcystis aeruginosa , library science , citation , geography , computer science , biology , cyanobacteria , genetics , bacteria
This communication is the first registration of a toxincontaining bloom of the cyanobacterium Microcystis aeruginosa Kutzing in the La Plata River, Uruguay, South America. The occurrence of the species M. aeruginosa in the La Plata River was first registered in Ž . 1981 by CARP 1989 but without any toxicological evaluation. During the summer of 1999, short-term M. aeruginosa blooms were observed at Colonia, in the Ž . country’s southwest 34 27 S, 057 20 W , in two locations on the Uruguayan side of the La Plata River. Microcystis blooms coincided with an important tourist influx to the area and a peak of water use for recreational and domestic purposes. Two sites were chosen in the area for sampling, a protected area within a Ž . harbor, Puerto Juan Lacaze JL , and an open area Ž . within a beach resort, Playa Fomento see Fig. 1 . Samples were taken on 5, 8, 10, 22, and 24 February 1999 at both sites. The water during the bloom had a Ž . Ž high pH average 8.3 , low transparency 0.15 0.3 m . Ž . Secchi , variable surface temperatures 21 29 C , and a N:P ratio also favorable for the event, 7:1 to 19:1. No Ž 1 . rainfalls and very slow winds 0 34 km h were ideal conditions for M. aeruginosa bloom development and accumulation. During the 5 days of monitoring, phytoplankton density was within the range of 600 6000