Potential distribution of the invasive freshwater dinoflagellate Ceratium furcoides (Levander) Langhans (Dinophyta) in South America

Abstract

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.

Influence of light and mixing regime on bloom‐forming phytoplankton in a subtropical reservoir

“…Microcystis has steadily increased its abundance since the filling of the reservoir in 1979 (O'Farrell & Izaguirre, ), and only recently, Ceratium achieved high abundances, such as the here registered blooms at S9. Ceratium hirundinella and C. furcoides have been recognized as invasive in South America (Meichtry de Zaburlin et al, ) associated to higher stability of the water column (da Silva, Leone, Santos‐Wisniewski, Peret, & Rocha, ). C. hirundinella was first observed in SGR, but more recently, it has been replaced by C. furcoides .…”

“…Recent observations indicate development of large populations of Ceratium furcoides at sites that were previously dominated by bloom‐forming Cyanobacteria. In this sense, Meichtry de Zaburlin, Vogler, Molina, and Llano () asserted that the Paraná, Uruguay, and South Atlantic basins have a great risk of invasion, a fact that might account for the species spread toward temperate regions of central and southern Argentina and Uruguay.…”

The South-American distribution and southernmost record of Biomphalaria peregrina—a potential intermediate host of schistosomiasis

“…The resulting model was assessed by estimating the area under the receiver-operating-characteristic curve (ROC-curve analyses; Fielding & Bell, 1997). The relative contribution of variables to the development of the model was evaluated by means of a jackknife test and through the response curves obtained in MaxEnt following Meichtry de Zaburlín et al (2016).…”

PRIMEIRO REGISTRO DA ESPÉCIE INVASORA Ceratium furcoides (LEVANDER) LANGHANS 1925 (DINOPHYCEAE) NO LAGO PARANOÁ, DISTRITO FEDERAL

“…De acordo com Havel et al (2005), reservatórios atuam como trampolins na dispersão de espécies exóticas, aumentando a conectividade dos sistemas aquáticos e facilitando a dispersão passiva por proporcionarem novos habitats para organismos que não se mantém em ambientes com forte fluxo unidirecional. Zaburlín et al (2016) apresentaram um modelo do potencial de distribuição de C. furcoides na América do Sul, com base em registros já realizados e variáveis ambientais climáticas, hidrológicas e topográficas, de modo a verificar a relação entre as localidades em que esta espécie está presente e as características ambientais da região, extrapolando para regiões de condições similares. Com isto, observou-se que os ambientes de maior susceptibilidade à invasão de C. furcoides apresentam temperatura média anual entre 18ºC e 22ºC.…”