Blooms of Toxic Cyanobacterium <i>Nodularia spumigena</i> in Norwegian Fjords During Holocene Warm Periods

Abstract

In paleoecological studies, molecular markers are being used increasingly often to reconstruct community structures, environmental conditions and ecosystem changes. In this work, nodularin, anabaenopeptins and selected DNA sequences were applied as Nodularia spumigena markers to reconstruct the history of the cyanobacterium in the Norwegian fjords. For the purpose of this study, three sediment cores collected in Oslofjorden, Trondheimsfjorden and Balsfjorden were analyzed. The lack of nodularin in most recent sediments is consistent with the fact that only one report on the sporadic occurrence and low amounts of the cyanobacterium in Norwegian Fjords in 1976 has been published. However, analyses of species-specific chemical markers in deep sediments showed that thousands of years ago, N. spumigena constituted an important component of the phytoplankton community. The content of the markers in the cores indicated that the biomass of the cyanobacterium increased during the warmer Holocene periods. The analyses of genetic markers were less conclusive; they showed the occurrence of microcystin/nodularin producing cyanobacteria of Nostocales order, but they did not allow for the identification of the organisms at a species level.

Keywords

• nodularin
• anabaenopeptins
• genetic markers
• Holocene climate optimum
• sediment cores
• Norwegian fjords