Abstract
The frequency and expansion of cyanobacterial blooms have increased in coastal waters worldwide. These may be facilitated by excessive nutrient input and global warming, exerting negative consequences in marine ecosystems, communities and habitats. Although reports of cyanobacterial blooms are frequent, their causes, consequences and spatial extent are not completely understood, hence restricting regional management actions. From 2009 to 2012 we examined the spatial extent of cyanobacterial blooms in the reef systems off Providencia Island, Colombia. We also identified the main taxa involved in those blooms and evaluated bloom cover within substrate types. Blooms of benthic cyanobacteria consisted of complex microbial consortia belonging to the genera Okeania, Lyngbya, Symploca, Phormidium, Oscillatoria or Spirulina. Cyanobacteria were present in different ecosystems, geomorphological zones and substrate types, particularly at the northwest, east and southeast portions of the island. The soft bottoms, sea grasses and reef ecosystems around Providencia Island are subject to cyanobacterial blooms of varying intensity. There is a strong need to further study the frequency, scale and duration of these events to understand their impact on an ecosystem basis and on the services these provide.
Highlights
In the Caribbean region, at least 80 % of the total coral cover has been lost since the seventies (Mumby & Steneck 2008)
In Old Providence Island blooms of benthic and planktonic cyanobacteria developed in four ecosystems: benthic blooms over sandy bottoms, seagrasses and coral reefs (Figure 4), and planktonic blooms in the pelagic zone
Benthic cyanobacterial mats in Old Providence, consisted of complex consortia belonging to the genera Okeania, Lyngbya, Symploca, Phormidium and Oscillatoria which have been reported in other tropical areas (Hamisi et al 2004, Thacker & Paul 2004, Charpy et al 2010, Engene et al 2013a, b)
Summary
In the Caribbean region, at least 80 % of the total coral cover has been lost since the seventies (Mumby & Steneck 2008). Factors that explain this loss are coastal development and increased human population, sewage runoff, sediment input, eutrophication, overfishing and alteration in food chains, proliferation of fleshy and turf algae (McCook et al 2001, Burke & Maidens 2004, Hughes et al 2010, Vermeij et al 2010), diseases and climate change (Aronson & Precht 2006, Mora 2008). There are reports of these events in the Pacific Ocean (Becerro et al 2006, Smith et al 2008), Micronesian atolls and Hawaiian Islands (Kuffner et al 2006), the Indian Ocean (Charpy et al 2012), the Baltic Sea (Paerl 2002, Conley et al 2009), and the Atlantic Ocean (Hayes et al 2001, Paul et al 2005)
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