Cyanobacterial blooms in Lake Atitlan, Guatemala |
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| Authors: | Eliška Rejmánková Ji?í Komárek Margaret Dix Jaroslava Komárková Nancy Girón |
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| Institution: | aUniversity of California Davis, One Shields Ave., Davis, CA 95616, USA;bInstitute of Botany AS CR and University of South Bohemia, Dukelská 135, CZ-379 82 T?eboň, Czech Republic;cUniversidad del Valle de Guatemala, 11Calle 15-78, Vista Hermosa 3, Guatemala City, Guatemala;dHydrobiological Institute AS CR and University of South Bohemia, Na sádkách 7, 370 05 ?eské Budějovice, Czech Republic;eUniversidad Rafael Landívar, Vista Hermosa III, Zona 16, Guatemala City, Guatemala |
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| Abstract: | Lake Atitlan, one of the most important lakes not only in Central America but in the whole world, is facing serious problems with increasing water pollution. Over the last several decades, the uncontrolled nutrient input into the lake has lead to high P levels and low N:P ratios, initiating cyanobacterial blooms. The first bloom occurred in December of 2008, followed by more extensive bloom in October 2009. The blooms are formed by cyanobacteria from the rare planktic Lyngbya hieronymusii/birgei/robusta complex. Based on the species morphology, the Atitlan population corresponds to L. robusta and this is the first case of reported bloom of this species worldwide. Remote sensing images documented that at the maximum bloom development, 40% of the 137 km2 of the lake area were covered by dense patches of Lyngbya, with the chlorophyll a concentration reaching over 100 μg L−1. The only toxins detected in the 2009 bloom were trace levels of cylindrospermopsin and saxitoxin with 12 and 58 ng g−1, respectively. The nitrogen fixation followed a pattern expected in non-heterocytous cyanobacteria, i.e., the nitrogenase activity was minimal during the day, while during the night the activity reached 2.2 nmol C2H4 μg Ch a−1 h−1. Delta 15N of −0.86‰ was well in the range given for nitrogen fixing organisms. The cell C, N and P content was 36.7%, 5.9% and 0.9%, respectively, resulting in the molar ratio of 105:14.4:1. A well designed and executed lake monitoring program, strict control of nutrient input into the lake, and public education are the necessary prerequisites for potential prevention of even more severe blooms than the one from 2009. |
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| Keywords: | Lake Atitlan Cyanobacteria Planktic Lyngbya-species Lyngbya robusta Nitrogen fixation Phosphorus Cyanobacterial bloom |
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