Occurrence of Freshwater Cyanobacteria and Bloom Records in Spanish Reservoirs (1981–2017)

Rufino Vieira-Lanero,Fernando Cobo,Sandra Barca,M Carmen Cobo

doi:10.3390/hydrobiology1010009

Rufino Vieira-Lanero, Fernando Cobo + Show 2 more

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https://doi.org/10.3390/hydrobiology1010009

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Abstract

Cyanobacterial blooms constitute a global environmental concern, with sometimes serious implications for human and animal health. Consequently, they represent a major problem in the management of water and aquatic ecosystems. The design of good quality control and management programs is therefore imperative and, for this, a good understanding of the state of the art becomes essential. In Spain, information related to freshwater cyanobacteria is somewhat scattered. Thus, the main objective of this work is to gather all the available information related to cyanobacteria in Spanish artificial water bodies (reservoirs), with special attention to episodes of massive proliferation and probable toxic events. Data for this review were obtained from scientific papers, technical reports, and from the websites of the different Spanish basin organizations. From the review carried out, it is relevant that: cyanobacteria species have been recorded in 252 of the 988 existing reservoirs and blooms in 91 of them (most of them destined for water supply), potentially toxic cyanobacteria are widespread, and that occurrence of blooms has increased recently. The latter could be attributed to a spread monitoring effort. Nevertheless, the effect of the increasing eutrophication and climate change should not be underestimated. In addition to the data compilation, the relation between the cyanobacteria recorded in the Spanish water reservoirs and the geological area where the reservoirs are located has been analyzed.

Highlights

Received: 13 January 2022The proliferation of planktonic cyanobacteria in lakes and water reservoirs is related to eutrophication processes
It is estimated that 50% (25% to 75%) of cyanobacterial blooms are toxic and generally 75% of the cyanobacteria that appear in a bloom can produce one or more types of toxins
Since the design of good monitoring and management programs depends on a good understanding of the matter, the main objective of the present work is to gather in a single document the available information on the cyanobacteria and bloom records in Spanish reservoirs, in order to provide a basis to picture the background of the situation

Summary

Introduction

Received: 13 January 2022The proliferation of planktonic cyanobacteria in lakes and water reservoirs is related to eutrophication processes. Blooms can modify the chemical conditions of the water with the consequent impact on the survival of other aquatic organisms [1–3]. They are generally associated with the presence of cyanotoxins [4–8]. CyanoHABs (cyanobacterial harmful algal blooms) constitute a serious environmental problem, with implications in human and animal health [3,12–16]. Numerous known cases of lethal poisoning of animals and even of human populations occurred worldwide [11,17], but is important to consider that the damage produced by toxins varies depending on the affected organism. Cyanotoxins can produce hepatic damage and can lead to death by intrahepatic hemorrhage and hypovolemic shock [18]. In non-lethal doses, these toxins have been attributed a Accepted: 11 February 2022

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