Phytoplankton of the transboundary River Viliya (Neris): community structure and toxic cyanobacterial blooms

Abstract

The 2011–2012 data on the hydrochemical mode of the transboundary River Viliya (Neris) and two of its tributaries in the territory of the Republic of Belarus and on structure of the phytoplankton community therein are presented. High phytoplankton biomass was determined in the summer period. For the first time, the presence of microcystin synthase genes (mcyE) was detected in the River Viliya (Neris), and four variants of microcystins were determined employing the MALDI-TOF method. Similarities in the species composition (including toxic species) of cyanobacteria from the River Viliya (Neris) and from the Curonian Lagoon of the Baltic Sea were noted. It can be assumed that the phytoplankton community structure of rivers can influence algal community formation in the downstream areas as well as in the coastal estuarine lagoons that eventually receive water from these rivers.