Dinoflagellates of the genus Ceratium are predominantly found in marine environments, with a few species in inland waters. Over the last decades, the freshwater species Ceratium hirundinella and Ceratium furcoides have colonized and invaded several South American basins. The purpose of this study was to create a distribution model for the invasive dinoflagellate C. furcoides in South America in order to further investigate the basins at potential risk, as well as the environmental conditions that influence its expansion. This species is known to develop blooms due to its mobility, resistance to sedimentation, and optimized use of resources. Although nontoxic, blooms of the species cause many problems to both the natural ecosystems and water users. Potential distribution was predicted by using a maximum entropy algorithm (MaxEnt). Model was run with 101 occurrences obtained from the scientific literature, and climatic, hydrological and topographic variables. The developed model had a very good performance for the study area. The most susceptible areas identified were mainly concentrated in the basins between southeastern Brazil and northeastern Argentina. Besides already affected regions, new potentially suitable areas were identified in temperate regions of South America. The information generated here will be useful for authorities responsible for water and watershed management to monitor the spread of this species and address problems related to its establishment in new environments.

First record of the invasive dinoflagellate Ceratium furcoides (Levander) Langhans 1925 in Argentina and its distribution in the influence area of the Yacyretá Reservoir (Paraná River, Argentina-Paraguay)In this study, we report for the first time the presence of Ceratium furcoides in Argentina, in the area of influence of the Yacyretá Reservoir, Paraná River. Though with low population densities (up to 15 cells/ ml), the species rapidly spread and developed in diverse trophic conditions, so it can be considered as established in the area. Being an invasive species in the region, it probably will spread to the lower sections of the Paraná River in the near future, as a result of passive dispersal through the main channel.

Se estudió la estructura y dinámica del fitoplancton del embalse Yacyretá en relación con las principales variables limnológicas durante el periodo diciembre de 2004 a noviembre de 2005, a 10 años del llenado del embalse. Las muestras cualitativas y cuantitativas fueron recolectadas en 6 estaciones, previamente seleccionadas siguiendo un criterio de zonación longitudinal. Se analizó la densidad, composición, riqueza, diversidad específica, equitatividad y grupos taxonómicos dominantes. Durante el período de estudio, el embalse Yacyretá no presentó estratificación térmica y la concentración de oxígeno disuelto fue alta en toda la columna de agua. Se registraron 200 especies distribuidas en 9 clases. El número de especies por muestra osciló entre 14 y 45 taxa y la diversidad específica entre 1.55 y 4.61 bits. La densidad varió entre 66 y 10 060 ind/ml, con dominancia de Cryptophyceae y Bacillariophyceae en las distintas regiones del embalse. Al inicio del otoño y final de la primavera, se registró un aumento en la densidad de Cyanobacteria en las estaciones con mayor tiempo de residencia del agua. La composición y densidad del fitoplancton presentó una marcada variación espacial y temporal determinada principalmente, por las variaciones del régimen hidrosedimentológico del río Paraná.Palabras clave: río Paraná, variables ambientales, florecimiento, variación espacio-temporal.