Microplastics (MPs) are becoming increasingly common in freshwater ecosystems. Rotifers may involuntarily ingest MPs through non-selective filtration, thus causing non-real satiety, leading to adverse effects on their demography. Here, we evaluated the acute and chronic effects of MPs (30 µm) on two successive generations of Brachionus calyciflorus s.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCyanotoxins from toxic blooms in lakes or eutrophic reservoirs are harmful to several organisms including zooplankton, which often act as vectors of these secondary metabolites, because they consume cyanobacteria, bioaccumulate the cyanotoxins and pass them on along the food chain. Microcystins are among the most commonly found cyanotoxins and often cause zooplankton mortality. Although cyanobacterial blooms are common and persistent in Mexican water bodies, information on the bioaccumulation of cyanotoxins is scarce.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFUnlike temperate regions, tropical ecosystems are characterized by high temperatures (>18 °C) all year, promoting blooms of cyanobacteria which often produce secondary metabolites toxic to zooplankton. Nabor Carillo and the Recreational Lake are part of the saline, Lake Texcoco, in Central Mexico which is filled nowadays with treated waste water. Both water bodies are dominated by Planktothrix, Anabaenopsis, Spirulina and Microcystis.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIn this study we evaluated the toxicological effects of crude extracts of Dolichospermum planctonicum on Plationus patulus (Rotifera) and Ceriodaphnia cornuta (Cladocera). The active compound from the laboratory-cultured cyanobacteria was extracted by lyophilizing it at -70 °C for 48 h, after which the sample was thawed. The cycle was repeated five times, and between each cycle the cells were sonicated to lyse them.
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