Spatio-Temporal Analysis of the Concentration and Composition of Planktonic Cyanobacteria Community in a Tropical Reservoir Chain

• Published in: Water resources Vol. 48; no. 6; pp. 1001 - 1012
• Main Authors: Luisa María, Múnera P., Pino, Nancy J., Peñuela, Gustavo A.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Moscow Pleiades Publishing 01.11.2021; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Analytical methods; Aquatic Pollution; Artificial environments; Blooms; Composition; Cyanobacteria; Deoxyribonucleic acid; DNA; DNA sequencing; Earth and Environmental Science; Earth Sciences; Ecological studies; Electrophoresis; Gel electrophoresis; Gels; Hydrobiology: Environmental Aspects; Hydrochemistry; Hydrogeology; Hydrology/Water Resources; Microcystis; Microorganisms; Nucleotide sequence; PCR; Polymerase chain reaction; Population dynamics; Regression models; Reservoirs; Sampling; Trophic state; Tropical climate; Waste Water Technology; Water bodies; Water Management; Water Pollution Control; quantitative PCR; reservoir chain; Cyanobacteria; Diversity
• ISSN: 0097-8078; 1608-344X
• DOI: 10.1134/S0097807821060191

Cyanobacteria are very heterogeneous microorganisms that are important in both natural and artificial environments. Nevertheless, an uncontrolled growth of cyanobacteria, or “bloom,” has a range of negative effects on reservoirs, which depend on multiple physical, chemical and biological variables that are almost characteristic of each ecosystem. Ecological studies of cyanobacteria allow their population dynamics to be understood and correlated with the variables that affect the presence or absence of “bloom.” The objective of this study was to associate the concentration and composition of planktonic cyanobacteria communities with the reservoir, time, and sampling point. The samples were collected over seven months from three inter-connected reservoirs and analyzed by Real Time Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and Denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE). From the sequencing of some deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) fragments, it was determined that the most frequently-appearing cyanobacteria were: Synechococcus rubescens, Microcystis aeruginosa, Cyanobium gracile and Halospirulina sp. The cyanobacteria concentration was correlated with the reservoir, time and sampling point by means of the Kruskal Wallis H test, and its independent effect was determined by a multivariate linear regression model. The results suggest that the total concentration of planktonic cyanobacteria was affected by the reservoir, time, and sampling point, but the abundance and composition of these in the reservoir chain studied was mainly affected by the trophic state of each water body and its intrinsic characteristics.