A European Multi Lake Survey dataset of environmental variables, phytoplankton pigments and cyanotoxins
Under ongoing climate change and increasing anthropogenic activity, which continuously challenge ecosystem resilience, an in-depth understanding of ecological processes is urgently needed. Lakes, as providers of numerous ecosystem services, face multiple stressors that threaten their functioning. Harmful cyanobacterial blooms are a persistent problem resulting from nutrient pollution and climate-change induced stressors, like poor transparency, increased water temperature and enhanced stratification. Consistency in data collection and analysis methods is necessary to achieve fully comparable datasets and for statistical validity, avoiding issues linked to disparate data sources. The Europea…
Stratification strength and light climate explain variation in chlorophyll a at the continental scale in a European multilake survey in a heatwave summer
The authors acknowledge COST Action ES 1105 "CYANOCOST Cyanobacterial blooms and toxins in water resources: Occurrence impacts and management" and COST Action Global Change Biology ES 1201 NETLAKE -Networking Lake Observatories in Europe" for contributing to this study through networking and knowledge sharing with European experts in the field. We acknowledge the members of the Global Lake Ecological Observatory Network (GLEON) for their collaborative spirit and enthusiasm that inspired the grassroots effort of the EMLS. E.M. was supported by a grant from the Swiss State Secretariat for Education, Research and Innovation to Bas Ibelings and by supplementary funding from University of Geneva…
The genus Ruppia L. (Ruppiaceae) in the Mediterranean region: An overview
Abstract This paper reviews the current knowledge on the diversity, distribution and ecology of the genus Ruppia L. in the Mediterranean region. The genus Ruppia, a cosmopolitan aquatic plant complex, is generally restricted to shallow waters such as coastal lagoons and brackish habitats characterized by fine sediments and high salinity fluctuations. In these habitats Ruppia meadows play an important structural and functional role. Molecular analyses revealed the presence of 16 haplotypes in the Mediterranean region, one corresponding to Ruppia maritima L., and the others to various morphological forms of Ruppia cirrhosa (Petagna) Grande, all together referred to as the “R. cirrhosa s.l. co…
Temperature effects explain continental scale distribution of cyanobacterial toxins
Insight into how environmental change determines the production and distribution of cyanobacterial toxins is necessary for risk assessment. Management guidelines currently focus on hepatotoxins (microcystins). Increasing attention is given to other classes, such as neurotoxins (e.g., anatoxin-a) and cytotoxins (e.g., cylindrospermopsin) due to their potency. Most studies examine the relationship between individual toxin variants and environmental factors, such as nutrients, temperature and light. In summer 2015, we collected samples across Europe to investigate the effect of nutrient and temperature gradients on the variability of toxin production at a continental scale. Direct and indirect…