Anales del Jardín Botánico de Madrid ISSN: 0211-1322 [email protected] Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas España Moreno Alcaraz, Jose Luis; Monteagudo Canales, Laura; Aboal Sanjurjo, Marina Morphological description and ecology of some rare macroalgae in south-central Spanish rivers (Castilla-La Mancha Region) Anales del Jardín Botánico de Madrid, vol. 70, núm. 1, enero-junio, 2013, pp. 81-90 Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas Madrid, España Available in: http://www.redalyc.org/articulo.oa?id=55628039009 How to cite Complete issue Scientific Information System More information about this article Network of Scientific Journals from Latin America, the Caribbean, Spain and Portugal Journal's homepage in redalyc.org Non-profit academic project, developed under the open access initiative 2323 macroalgae.4.qxp:Anales 70(1).qxd 22/07/13 16:22 Página 81 Anales del Jardín Botánico de Madrid 70(1): 81-90, enero-junio 2013. ISSN: 0211-1322. doi: 10.3989/ajbm. 2323 Morphological description and ecology of some rare macroalgae in south-central Spanish rivers (Castilla-La Mancha Region) Jose Luis Moreno Alcaraz1*, Laura Monteagudo Canales1 & Marina Aboal Sanjurjo2 1Centro Regional de Estudios del Agua, Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha, ctra. de Las Peñas km 3, E-02071 Albacete, Spain 2Departamento de Biología Vegetal, Universidad de Murcia, Campus de Espinardo, E-30100 Murcia, Spain [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected] Abstract Resumen Moreno Alcaraz, J.L., Canales Monteagudo, L. & Aboal Sanjurjo, M. 2013. Moreno Alcaraz, J.L., Canales Monteagudo, L. & Aboal Sanjurjo, M. 2013. Morphological description and ecology of some rare macroalgae in south- Descripción morfológica y ecología de algunas macroalgas fluviales de la central Spanish rivers (Castilla-La Mancha Region). Anales Jard. Bot. España centromeridional (Castilla-La Mancha). Anales Jard. Bot. Madrid Madrid 70(1): 81-90. 70(1): 81-90 (en inglés). The Castilla-La Mancha Region (south-central Spain) is scarcely studied in El conocimiento sobre la biodiversidad algal de la región de Castilla-La terms of freshwater algae. However, both the implementation of the Wa- Mancha, situada en la zona centro-sur de España, es escaso en compara- ter Framework Directive (2000/60/CE) and the evaluation of the ecological ción con el de otras regiones peninsulares. Sin embargo, la aplicación de la state of European aquatic ecosystems have increased the intensity and fre- Directiva Marco del Agua (2000/60/CE), y la evaluación del estado ecoló- quency of water body monitoring, including the rivers, lakes and wetlands gico de los ecosistemas acuáticos europeos, ha traído consigo un aumen- of this region. Thus, our knowledge on algal biodiversity and the geogra- to en la frecuencia e intensidad en el muestreo de ríos, lagos y humedales. phical distribution of many species is rapidly increasing. In this study we De esta forma, durante los últimos años se han producido nuevos hallaz- describe the occurrence, ecological conditions and morphological charac- gos en la región que han permitido ampliar el conocimiento de la biodi- teristics of five algal species which are rare at the European level: Nosto- versidad de algas así como de la distribución geográfica de muchas de sus chopsis lobata Wood ex Bornet & Flahault, Batrachospermum atrum (Hud- especies. En este trabajo se describen las condiciones ecológicas y las ca- son) Harvey, Chroothece richteriana Hansg., Oocardium stratum Nägeli racterísticas morfológicas de cinco especies que pueden considerarse raras and Tetrasporidium javanicum Möbius. In addition, we include Hydrurus a nivel europeo: Nostochopsis lobata Wood & Bornet & Flahault, Batra- foetidus (Vill.) Trev., a more common alga in Spain, since this is the first chospermum atrum (Hudson) Harvey, Chroothece richteriana Hansg., Oo- record for the region. Finally, we compare morphological and ecologi cal cardium stratum Nägeli y Tetrasporidium javanicum Möbius; y de una sex- characteristics of the studied populations with other European records. ta especie, frecuente en España y Europa, pero que supone la primera cita para esta región, Hydrurus foetidus (Vill.) Trev. Finalmente, se comparan las características morfológicas y ecológicas de las poblaciones estudiadas con otras citas Europeas. Keywords: Algae, stream, river, Spain, Cyanophyceae, Rodophyceae, Keywords: Algae, arroyo, río, España, Cyanophyceae, Rodophyceae, Chlorophyceae. Chlo rophyceae. INTRODUCTION “macrophytes and phytobenthos”. As a consequence, knowl- The Castilla-La Mancha administrative region (south-central edge on macroalgal biodiversity and the geographical distribu- Spain) remains as one of the most unknown of the Iberian Penin- tion of many species has rapidly increased in recent years. sula in relation to river algae diversity. Five main river basins In this study we describe the occurrence, ecological condi- are included in this region: Tajo, Júcar, Guadiana, Gua dalquivir tions and morphological characteristics of some uncommon al- and Segura, but only the last has been intensely surveyed with gal taxa. One of them has been the first record for Spain and the regards to algae (e.g. Aboal & Llimona, 1985; Aboal, 1988a-c, third for Europe: Nostochopsis lobata Wood ex Bornet & Fla- 1989a-c; Sabater & al., 1989; Aboal & al., 1996). The rest of re- hault; four additional species are hardly cited in Europe: Batra- gion is scarcely studied (e.g. Aboal, 1996; Álvarez & al., 2007) chospermum atrum (Hudson) Harvey, Chroothece richteriana although a species list of Charophytes in Castilla-La Mancha Hansg., Oocardium stratum Nägeli and Tetrasporidium java- focusing mainly on wetland areas has been published by Ciru- nicum Möbius; and finally, Hydrurus foetidus (Vill.) Trev., jano & Medina (2002). Additionally, a recent review on the sta- which has been collected in cold streams of some mountains of tus of river aquatic plants in this region (Moreno & al., 2011) Spain although our record is the first cite for the study area. provides an up to date regional catalogue of aquatic bryophyte All the taxa were found within the boundaries of the Au- species as well as a list of macroalgae genera. tonomous Community of Castilla-La Mancha (south-central The implementation of the Water Framework Directive Spain) (Fig. 1) which occupies an area of 79409 km2. This re- (2000/60/CE) and the evaluation of the ecological state of Euro- gion includes the upper and middle reaches of five large river pean aquatic ecosystems have increased the intensity and fre- basins: Tajo, Guadiana, Guadalquivir, Júcar and Segura. Land quency of monitoring of water bodies, including the rivers, uses are mainly agriculture (46 % of the regional area) and fo- lakes and wetlands of the study area. The assessment of the eco- rest (44 %). Regarding geology, three zones can be distin- logical state of rivers by applying the Water Framework Direc- guished: the western zone is rich in Precambrian siliceous tive (WFD) implies the monitoring of the biological element rocks (mostly quartzite, slate, shale, granite and gneiss); Meso- * Corresponding author. 2323 macroalgae.4.qxp:Anales 70(1).qxd 24/07/13 15:48 Página 82 82 J.L. Moreno Alcaraz & al. - - + concentration of nutrients (N-NO3 , N-NO2 , N-NH4 , and P- -3 PO4 ) was determined photometrically with MERCK Kits (Spectroquant®); ion chromatography was used to analyse chloride and sulphate; turbidity with a turbidimeter TN-100 (Eutech Instruments; infrared light); calcium and magnesium by complexometry (volumetry); sodium and potassium by atomic emission. All these parameters were analysed following standard procedures detailed in APHA (1998). RESULTS Nostochopsis lobata Wood ex Bornet & Flahault (Fig. 2a-c) Some specimens of N. lobata were found at the Nava del Rey stream (Fig.1), a temperate temporary stream tributary of the Guadalquivir river. The stream was located in the southern part of Castilla-La Mancha (Province of Ciudad Real), and it flows over Palaeozoic siliceous metamorphic rocks (quartzites, slates and shales). The study site was located at medium altitude (590 m) at 9.5 km from the source with an upstream drainage area of 41.76 km2. N. lobata was found when the stream was at base Fig. 1. Map of the Iberian Peninsula showing the limits of the Castilla-La Mancha flow condition (June 2009). Two morphological forms were Region, the main rivers crossing the study area and the location of the species collected: compact globular specimens corresponding to young recorded. ♦ Hydrurus foetidus; ☐ Oocardium stratum; ● Nostochopsis lobata; ▲ colonies (Fig. 2a,b) were found attached to a moss stem where- ◯ ■ Chroothece richteriana; Batrachospermum atrum; Tetrasporidium javanicum; as free floating diffluent fragments coming from senescent Castilla-La Mancha Region. colonies were collected entangled with other macrophytes. Young colonies measured 0.5-3 cm in diameter while diffluent zoic calcareous rocks (limestone, dolomite, sandstone and con- fragments were about 0.1-1 cm; and its colour changed from glomerates) are dominant in the eastern area; and finally, Ter- brownish to bluish, respectively. The radial disposition of fila- tiary sedimentary fills are accumulated in the great central ments could be clearly observed in the outer part of the colonies, in transversal sections (Fig. 2b). Cells were isodia- plateau located at 700 m a.s.l. called “La Mancha”, where metrical to cylindrical, measuring from 2.0 µm up to 6.17 µm in clays, sandstones, gravels, stones,