Morphological description and ecology of some rare macroalgae in south-central Spanish rivers (Castilla-La Mancha Region)

Abstract

The Castilla-La Mancha Region (south-central Spain) is scarcely studied in terms of freshwater algae. However, both the implementation of the Water Framework Directive (2000/60/CE) and the evaluation of the ecological state of European aquatic ecosystems have increased the intensity and frequency of water body monitoring, including the rivers, lakes and wetlands of this region. Thus, our knowledge on algal biodiversity and the geographical distribution of many species is rapidly increasing. In this study we describe the occurrence, ecological conditions and morphological characteristics of five algal species which are rare at the European level: Nostochopsis lobata Wood ex Bornet & Flahault, Batrachospermum atrum (Hudson) Harvey, Chroothece richteriana Hansg., Oocardium stratum Nägeli and Tetrasporidium javanicum Möbius. In addition, we include Hydrurus foetidus (Vill.) Trev., a more common alga in Spain, since this is the first record for the region. Finally, we compare morphological and ecologi cal characteristics of the studied populations with other European records.

Diversity of Batrachospermales (Rhodophyta) in the Iberian Peninsula

“…Torularia atra is a cosmopolitan species and the morphological characteristics of the specimen in this study match previous descriptions (Sheath et al 1993;Kumano 2002;Eloranta et al 2011;Rossignolo & Necchi 2016). Torularia atra (as Batrachospermum atrum) was reported four times previously in the Iberian Peninsula (Reis 1974, Aboal et al 1995Moreno Alcaraz et al 2013;Rossignolo & Necchi 2016). The environmental conditions reported in those surveys were similar to the ones described in this study: specific conductance (577-870 µS.cm -1 ), pH (6.4-8.1), and temperature (14-20 °C).…”

Seasonal succession of the travertine‐forming desmid Oocardium stratum

“…, Moreno Alcaraz et al. ). For eastern Austria, O. stratum was documented by Hansgirg () near Wiener Neustadt and by Brehm and Ruttner () in the area of Lunz/See.…”

“…The Cosmarium-like cells (width 15-20 lm, length 10-20 lm) are located at tips of gelatinous stalks encrusted with lime (Wallner 1933, 1934a,b, Golubi c and Mar cenko 1958, Schagerl and Pr€ oschold 2007. Oocardium stratum has been documented for North America (Mathews et al 1965, Pfiester 1976, Cuba, India (Rieth 1969), China (Pentecost and Zhang 2000) and a few locations all over Europe (e.g., N€ ageli 1849, Wallner 1934c, Rieth 1969, Pfiester 1976, Coesel 2002, Rott et al 2012, Moreno Alcaraz et al 2013. For eastern Austria, O. stratum was documented by Hansgirg (1905) near Wiener Neustadt and by Brehm and Ruttner (1926) in the area of Lunz/See.…”

Bridging community and metacommunity perspectives in benthic photosynthetic organisms (Serranía de Cuenca, Central Spain)

“…Despite being in a limestone landscape, the presence of several species of Desmids, belonging to the genera Cosmarium, Hyalotheca, Pleurotaenium and Staurastrum, could be observed, something which has also been verified in other non-acidic landscapes (Coesel, 1982;Osório et al, 1982). Interestingly, Oocardium, the travertine-encrusting desmid (see Moreno Alcaraz et al, 2013), has not been recorded despite our search in the area, but it must not be forgotten that ours was not an approach to maximize biodiversity knowledge, but to describe ecology of assemblages and this may overlook rare taxa which could otherwise be present. Anyway, the Serranía de Cuenca algal flora is suggestive because it reflects conditions of little environmental alteration, increasingly rare in our country; the current composition of the flora could serve as the basis for subsequent determinations of environmental changes, whether or not derived from global change.…”