First application of a drone for studies of the biodiversity of Bulgarian extremophilic algae in the Marikostinovo thermal complex

Abstract

The paper presents results from the first application of a drone in the studies of the biodiversity of extremophilic thermal algae in Bulgaria. The drone was used to choose the sampling sites in the Marikostinovo thermal complex (South-Western Bulgaria). From the eight samples chosen in this way, totally 54 algal taxa (except diatoms) were identified. As it was expected, a comparison between species composition of the collected samples (52) and that of the cultured at room temperature material (14) showed significant difference in the registered biodiversity with only seven algae found in both types of samples. Among all algae found, 3 genera and 17 species are new for Bulgaria, 48 taxa from 22 genera are new for the Marikostinovo thermal complex, and 35 species from 9 genera are new for the thermal flora of Bulgaria. In this way, the total number of algae recorded in Bulgarian thermal waters increased from 206 to 241, from which the current biodiversity of Marikostinovo (54 taxa) comprises 29%, and the total number of algae determined in the complex during the last hundred years became 70. Four of the species found during this study were declared as threatened in the Red List of Bulgarian microalgae (two Endangered and two Near Threatened). In the same time, 40 species are potential cyanotoxin-producers, which requires further studies of Bulgarian thermal waters in this aspect. All obtained results showed the great potential of application of drones in the studies related with biodiversity of extreme and vulnerable habitats, and threatened species as well.

References:

Anonymous 2019. Marikostinovo. Retrieved on 21st April 2019 from https://bg.wikipedia.org/

Bernard C., Ballot A., Thomazeau S., Maloufi S., Furey A., Mankiewicz-Boczek I., Pawlik-Skowronska B., Capelli C. & Salmazo N. 2017. Appendix 2. Cyanobacteria associated with the production of cyanotoxins. - In: Meriluoto J., Spoof L. & Codd J. (Eds), Handbook of Cyanobacterial Monitoring and Cyanotoxin Analysis. Wiley, 501-525.

Bisserkov V., Gussev Ch ., Popov V., Hibaum G., Roussakova V., Pandurski I., Uzunov Y., Dimitrov M., Tzonev R. & Tsoneva S. (Eds) 2015. Red Data Book of the Republic of Bulgaria. Volume 3. Natural Habitats, BAS et MOEW, Sofia, 422 pp.

Catherine Q., W ood S., Echenigue-Subiabre I., Heath M., Villeneuve A. & Humbert J.-F. 2013. A review of current knowledge on toxic benthic freshwater cyanobacteria - Ecology, toxin production and risk management. - Water Research 47: 5464-5479.

Copeland J. J. 1936. Yellowstone thermal Myxophyceae. - Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences 36: 1-232.

Diaz-Delgado R. & Mücher C. A. 2018. Special Issue Information. Available at: https://www.mdpi.com/journal/drones/special_issues/biodivers?view=default&listby=date.

Fremy P. & Rayss T. 1938. Algues des sources thermales de Kallirrhoe (Transjordanie). - Palestine Journal of Botany 1: 27-34.

Geitler L. 1931. Cyanophyceae. - In: Rabenhorst L. (Ed.), Kryptogamen-Flora von Deutschland, Österreich und der Schweiz. Ed. 2. Vol. 14. Akademische Verlagsgesellschaft, Leipzig. 289-672.

Geitler L. 1942. Schizophyta: Klasse Schizophyceae. - In: Engler A. & Prantl K. (Eds), Die natürlichen Pflanzenfamilien, Sweite Auflage. Vol.1b, Wilhelm Engelmann, Leipzig, 232 pp.

Georgiev G. 1948. General charactersitics of plants of some breeding places pf Anophelinae in Bulgaria. - Voenno-Sanitarno Delo (Sofia) 2: 8-10 (In Bulgarian, Russian summ.).

Gollerbakh M. M., Kossinskaya E. K. & Polyanskiy V. I. 1953. Manual of freshwater algae of the USSR. Volume 2. Blue-green algae. Sovetskaya Nauka, Moscow, 652 pp. (In Russian).

Guiry M. D. & Guiry G. M. 2019. AlgaeBase. World-wide electronic publication, National University of Ireland, Galway. http://www.algaebase.org/ (Last accessed on 21st April 2019).

Meriluoto J., Spoof L. & Codd J. (Eds) 2017. Handbook of Cyanobacterial Monitoring and Cyanotoxin Analysis. Wiley, 567 pp.

Mohamed Z. A. & Al-Shehri A. M. 2015. Biodiversity and toxin production of cyanobacteria in mangrove swamps in the Red Sea off the southern coast of  Saudi Arabia. - Botanica Marina 58 (1): DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/bot-2014-0055.

Petkoff S. 1925. La flore algologique du mont Pirin-planina. - Sbornik na Bulgarskata Akademiya na Naukite 20: 1-128 (In Bulgarian, French summ.).

Round F. E. 1981. The ecology of algae. Cambridge University Press, 653 pp.

Stoyneva M. P. 2014. Contribution to the knowledge on the biodiversity of hydro-and aerobiontic prokaryotic and eukaryotic alage in Bulgaria. Dr Science Thesis, University of Sofia, Faculty of Biology, Department of Botany, 825 pp. (In Bulgarian).

Stoyneva M. P. & Gärtner G. 2004. Taxonomic and ecological notes to the List of green algal species from Bulgarian thermomineral waters. - Berichte des Naturwissenschaftlich-medizinischer Verein Innsbruck 91: 67-89.

Stoyneva M. P., Dobrev H. P. & Pilarski P. St. 2015. Calothrix confervicola Agardh ex Bornet et Flahault (Cyanoprokaryota) - a new possible causative agent of seaweed dermatitis? - Annual of Sofia University, Faculty Biology, Book 2 - Botany 99: 11-18.

Stoyneva-Gärtner M. P., Uzunov B. A. & Gärtner G. 2018. Checklist of algae from Bulgarian thermal waters. - Annual of Sofia University, Faculty of Biology, Book 2-Botany 102: 29-54.

Stoyneva-Gärtner M. P., Descy J.-P., Latli A., Uzunov B., Pavlova V., Bratanova Zl., Babica P., Marsálek B., Meriluoto J. & Spoof L. 2017. Assessment of cyanoprokaryote blooms and of cyanotoxins in Bulgaria in a 15-years period (2000-2015). - Advances in Oceanography and Limnology 8 (1): 131-152.

Stoyneva-Gärtner M. P., Uzunov B. A., Descy J.-P., G. Gärtner, Draganova P. H., Borisova C. I., Pavlova V. & Mitreva M. 2019. Pilot application of drone-observations and pigment marker detection by HPLC in the studies of CyanoHABs in Bulgarian inland wters. - Marine and Freshwater Research, https://doi.org/10.1071/MF18383.

Strunecky O., Kopejtka K., Goecke F. , Tomasch J., Lukavsky J., Neori A., Kahl S., Pieper D. H., Pilarski P., Kaftan D. & Koblízek M. 2018. High diversity of thermophilic cyanobacteria in Rupite hot spring identified by microscopy, cultivation, single-cell PCR and amplicon sequencing. - Extremophiles, DOI: 10.1007/s00792-018-1058.

Uzunov B., Stoyneva M., Mancheva A. & Gärtner G. 2012. ACUS - the new collection of living aeroterrestrial algae of Sofia University “St. Kliment Ohridski”. - In: Petrova A. (Ed.), Proceedings of the VII National Conference in Botany, 29-30 September 2011, Sofia. Bulgarian Botanical Society, Sofia, 271-274. (In Bulgarian).