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Massive fish mortality and Cylindrospermopsis raciborskii bloom in Aleksandrovac Lake

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Abstract

This paper presents a case study of a massive fish mortality during a Cylindrospermopsis raciborskii bloom in Aleksandrovac Lake, Serbia in mid-December 2012. According to a preliminary investigation of the samples taken on November 6 before the fish mortalities and to extended analyses of samples taken on November 15, no values of significant physicochemical parameters emerged to explain the cause(s) of the fish mortality. No industrial pollutants were apparent at this location, and results excluded the likelihood of bacterial infections. Even after freezing, the dissolved oxygen concentration in the water was sufficient for fish survival. High concentrations of chlorophyll a and phaeophytin occurred in the lake, and phytoplankton bloom samples were lethal in Artemia salina bioassays. A bloom of the cyanobacterium C. raciborskii was recorded during November. Although the A. salina bioassays indicated the presence of toxic compounds in the cyanobacterial cells, the cyanotoxins, microcystins, cylindrospermopsin and saxitoxin were not detected.

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Acknowledgments

The authors acknowledge the funding of the Ministry of Education, Science and Technological Development of the Serbian Government (project number: 176020) and, also, COST Action ES1105 “CYANOCOST- Cyanobacterial blooms and toxins in water resources: Occurrence, impacts and management” for adding value to this study through networking and knowledge-sharing with European experts in the field.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biology and Ecology, Faculty of Science, University of Novi Sad, Trg Dositeja Obradovića 2, Novi Sad, 21000, Serbia

    Zorica Svirčev, Damjana Drobac, Nada Tokodi, Jelica Simeunović, Tamara Važić & Jussi Meriluoto

  2. Jaroslav Černi Institute for the Development of Water Resources, Jaroslava Černog 80, Pinosava, Belgrade, 12226, Serbia

    Vesna Obradović, Prvoslav Marjanović, Anđelka Petković & Tanja Nenin

  3. Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Stirling, Stirling, FK9 4LA, UK

    Geoffrey A. Codd

  4. Biochemistry, Faculty of Science and Engineering, Åbo Akademi University, Tykistökatu 6 A, 20520, Turku, Finland

    Zorica Svirčev, Lisa Spoof & Jussi Meriluoto

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  1. Zorica Svirčev
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  2. Vesna Obradović
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Correspondence to Damjana Drobac.

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Svirčev, Z., Obradović, V., Codd, G.A. et al. Massive fish mortality and Cylindrospermopsis raciborskii bloom in Aleksandrovac Lake. Ecotoxicology 25, 1353–1363 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10646-016-1687-x

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