Are We Underestimating Benthic Cyanotoxins? Extensive Sampling Results from Spain.

Microcystins (MCs) are potent hepatotoxins, and their presence in water bodies poses a threat to wildlife and human populations. Most of the available information refers to plankton, and much less is known about microcystins in other habitats. To broaden our understanding of the presence and environmental distribution of this group of toxins, we conducted extensive sampling throughout Spain, under a range of conditions and in distinct aquatic and terrestrial habitats.

Assessment of water supply as an ecosystem service in a rural-urban watershed in southwestern Mexico City.

Studies from the ecosystem services perspective can provide a useful framework because they allow us to fully examine the benefits that humans obtain from socio-ecological systems. Mexico City, the second largest city in the world, has faced severe problems related to water shortages, which have worsened due to increasing population. Demand for space has forced changes in land cover, including covering areas that are essential for groundwater recharge.

Morphological study of Cyclotella choctawhatcheeana Prasad (Stephanodiscaceae) from a saline Mexican lake.

Background: Cyclotella choctawhatcheeana Prasad 1990 is a small centric diatom found in the plankton of water bodies with a wide range of salt concentrations. This paper describes the morphological features of the valve of C. choctawhatcheeana, from Alchichica lake, a hyposaline lake located in Central Mexico, and provides information about their ecology with respect to water chemistry and distribution in the water column along the annual cycle.