Bloom-forming cyanobacteria and cyanotoxins in Argentina: A growing health and environmental concern

A. ANABELLA; S. HAAKONSSON; M.V. MARTIN; R. ECHENIQUE; G.L. SALERNO; G.L. SALERNO

LIMNOLOGICA

ELSEVIER GMBH

Año: 2019 vol. 69 p. 103 - 114

0075-9511

Toxiccyanobacterial blooms are a serious water quality issue worldwide whoseincidence and severity are predicted to increase due to climate change andeutrophication. Argentinais not an exception to this trend, since those massive proliferations havealarmingly increased in the last two decades as a consequence of water qualitychanges due to human activities. This work presents athorough search and analysis of published literature on the occurrence ofcyanobacterial blooms and cyanotoxins in Argentina. We retrieved 241 bloomevents (1944-2014) covering 63 impacted water bodies, used either forrecreational activities or drinking water supply. The highest incidence wasconcentrated in the central and eastern areas of the country (Chaco-PampeanPlain and Peripampean Sierras), regions that coincidentally are the most denselypopulated and are highly impacted by agro-industrial activities. Intense bloomsof Microcystis, Dolichospermum andCylindrospermopsis species represent a potential hazard for bothhuman beings and wild?life through oral ingestion and/or direct contact, althoughquantitative and systematic registers to estimate the extent are still missing. Elevated microcystins concentrations, together with thepresence of blooms of potential saxitoxinor anatoxin producersemphasize the need to increase monitoring ofsaid toxins in drinking water supplies and recreational areas. The data presented are a valuable tool to promotethe generation and implementation of guideline values and risk managementframeworks at a national and regional scale.