Impact of filamentous cyanobacteria on the water quality of two tropical reservoirs

ABSTRACT Artificial lakes play an important role in water availability in tropical semi-arid Northeastern Brazil. However, in addition to the negative effects that dams have on the water quality of rivers, other practices such as discharge of untreated wastewater, intensive crop fertilization and fish farming have been contributing to water quality deterioration. Climate change may be another driver of water quality decrease. Increases in precipitation and drought intensities as well as temperature increase may redefine the dynamics of planktonic communities and favour species more adapted to the new environment. Water samples were collected in two reservoirs selected based on the recurrence of positive results for saxitoxins, Acarape do Meio (AM) and Sitios Novos (SN). In general, diversity in SN (1.08) was higher than in the AM (0.60). Phytoplankton dynamics in these reservoirs differ from other reservoirs in the same region of Brazil, in the sense that filamentous cyanobacteria are dominant. Furthermore, lower diversity, concentration and richness of chlorophyceae and bacillariophyceae were found in both reservoirs. Increase in diversity was observed during the intense rainy season of 2011, suggesting a slight improvement of water quality. A close inverse correlation between Cylindrospermopsis sp and other cyanobacteria was found in SN (R2= –0.862) and in AM (R2= –0.997) and the data collected demonstrates that a season with intensive rainfall may lead to lower cyanobacteria concentrations probably due to water dilution and higher flushing rates. RESUMO Os lagos artificiais tem um papel primordial na disponibilidade hídrica no semi-árido Brasileiro. Entretanto, além dos efeitos negativos que os barramentos dos rios causam sobre a qualidade da água, a descarga de esgotos, a irrigação e a piscicultura intensivas vêm acentuando a deterioração da qualidade da água em um ritmo sem precedentes nesta região. A mudança climática é outro fator de impacto negativo na qualidade da água. O aumento da intensidade das precipitações pode redefinir a dinâmica das comunidades de plâncton e espécies mais adaptadas a ambientes extremamente variáveis. Os reservatórios estudados, Acarape do Meio (AM) e Sítios Novos (SN), foram selecionados com base na recorrência de resultados positivos para saxitoxinas. A dinâmicas do fitoplâncton encontrada, difere de outras áreas da mesma região, no sentido em que as cianobactérias filamentosas são dominantes. Baixas diversidade, concent