Cyanobacterial bloom in the Chen Ha karst landscape

Abstract

The Ejido of Kopomá with an extension of 963,000 hectares, participates in the environmental services program. In this property is located the Cenote Chen Ha. An open-air water body that is often affected by anthropogenic activities that put its conservation at risk. The present study aims to use environmental health indicators to determine the degree of deterioration it presents. Based on this, a conservation and sustainable management plan will be developed. Phytoplankton biodiversity monitoring was carried out in spring and summer. The physicochemical variables determined were pH, temperature, conductivity, dissolved oxygen. In spring greater diversity was observed and the dominant species were diatoms, however, in summer cyanobacteria, Coelosphaerium, Woronichinia naegeliana and Microcystis predominated. Alkaline pH in summer: 8.24 and dissolved oxygen: 3.38 ppm. Regarding species richness, the Shannon index was 2.748 for spring and 2.389 for summer. No similarity between populations was observed, the beta similarity index was 0.25. The Chen Ha cenote is highly vulnerable to environmental conditions, our results demonstrated the formation of a cyanobacteria bloom with toxic potential in summer.