Dataset Information

Fatal Neurotoxicosis in Dogs Associated with Tychoplanktic, Anatoxin-a Producing Tychonema sp. in Mesotrophic Lake Tegel, Berlin.

ABSTRACT: In May 2017, at least 12 dogs showed signs of acute neurotoxicosis after swimming in or drinking from Lake Tegel, a mesotrophic lake in Berlin, Germany, and several of the affected dogs died shortly afterwards despite intensive veterinary treatment. Cyanobacterial blooms were not visible at the water surface or the shorelines. However, detached and floating water moss (Fontinalis antipyretica) with high amounts of Tychonema sp., a potential anatoxin-a (ATX) producing cyanobacterium, was found near the beaches where the dogs had been swimming and playing. Necropsies of two of the dogs revealed no specific lesions beside the anamnestic neurotoxicosis. ATX was detected in concentrations up to 8700 µg L-1 in the stomach contents, while other (neuro)toxic substances were not found. In the aqueous fraction of Fontinalis/Tychonema clumps sampled after the casualties, ATX was found in concentrations up to 1870 µg L-1. This is the first report of a dense population of Tychonema sp. in stands of Fontinalis resulting in high ATX contents. This case emphasizes the need for further investigation of potentially toxic, non-bloom forming cyanobacteria in less eutrophic water bodies and underlines the novel challenge of developing appropriate surveillance schemes for respective bathing sites.

SUBMITTER: Fastner J

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5848161 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Publications

Fatal Neurotoxicosis in Dogs Associated with Tychoplanktic, Anatoxin-a Producing Tychonema sp. in Mesotrophic Lake Tegel, Berlin.

Fastner Jutta J Beulker Camilla C Geiser Britta B Hoffmann Anja A Kröger Roswitha R Teske Kinga K Hoppe Judith J Mundhenk Lars L Neurath Hartmud H Sagebiel Daniel D Chorus Ingrid I

Toxins 20180131 2

In May 2017, at least 12 dogs showed signs of acute neurotoxicosis after swimming in or drinking from Lake Tegel, a mesotrophic lake in Berlin, Germany, and several of the affected dogs died shortly afterwards despite intensive veterinary treatment. Cyanobacterial blooms were not visible at the water surface or the shorelines. However, detached and floating water moss (<i>Fontinalis antipyretica</i>) with high amounts of <i>Tychonema</i> sp., a potential anatoxin-a (ATX) producing cyanobacterium ...[more]

PMID: 29385106

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Project description:Exotic hydrophytes are often considered as aquatic weeds, especially when forming dense mats on an originally poorly colonized environment. While management efforts and research are focused on the control and on the impacts of aquatic weeds on biodiversity, their influence on shallow lakes' biogeochemical cycles is still unwell explored. The aim of the present study is to understand whether invasive aquatic plants may affect the biogeochemistry of shallow lakes and act as ecosystem engineers. We performed a multi-year investigation (2013-2015) of dissolved biogeochemical parameters in an oligo-mesotrophic shallow lake of south-west of France (Lacanau Lake), where wind-sheltered bays are colonized by dense mats of exotic Egeria densa Planch. and Lagarosiphon major (Ridl.) Moss. We collected seasonal samples at densely vegetated and plant-free areas, in order to extrapolate and quantify the role of the presence of invasive plants on the biogeochemistry, at the macrophyte stand scale and at the lake scale. Results revealed that elevated plant biomass triggers oxygen (O2), dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) and nitrogen (DIN) stratification, with hypoxia events frequently occurring at the bottom of the water column. Within plants bed, elevated respiration rates generated important amounts of carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4) and ammonium (NH4 +). The balance between benthic nutrients regeneration and fixation into biomass results strictly connected to the seasonal lifecycle of the plants. Indeed, during summer, DIC and DIN regenerated from the sediment are quickly fixed into plant biomass and sustain elevated growth rates. On the opposite, in spring and autumn, bacterial and plant respiration overcome nutrients fixation, resulting in an excess of nutrients in the water and in the increase of carbon emission toward the atmosphere. Our study suggests that aquatic weeds may perform as ecosystem engineers, by negatively affecting local oxygenation and by stimulating nutrients regeneration.

Dataset Information

Fatal Neurotoxicosis in Dogs Associated with Tychoplanktic, Anatoxin-a Producing Tychonema sp. in Mesotrophic Lake Tegel, Berlin.

Publications

Fatal Neurotoxicosis in Dogs Associated with Tychoplanktic, Anatoxin-a Producing Tychonema sp. in Mesotrophic Lake Tegel, Berlin.

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