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3. Algal Toxins (WE4/4) Freshwater algae toxins in Europe - is there a trend ? Vasconcelos, Vitor1, 1 University of Porto, Porto, Portugal ABSTRACT- Cyanobacteria are the most important toxin producing species among all freshwater phytoplankton and phytobenthos organisms. Toxins produced by cyanobacteria have been intensively studied since the earliest records of animal intoxication in the late nineteen century. The evolution on the studies on toxic cyanobacteria throughout Europe as well in other parts of the world lead to an increase on the number of toxins described along the last decades. This was due not only to the fact that more laboratories started to investigate toxic cyanobacteria occurrence but also because new and more sensitive analytical techniques have been used. The fact that climatic changes may also be responsible for an increase on cyanobacteria occurrence and on the dispersion of tropical species to sub-tropical and temperate areas is not yet well understood but is gaining more emphasis. Are hepatotoxins more common in lower latitudes while neurotoxins are more common in higher latitudes? Are tropical species invading temperate areas? What are the dominant toxins in Europe? Is there any trends or patterns? These are some of the questions we will be discussed during this talk. Key words: algal toxins, cyanobacteria |
