Fottea, 2016 (vol. 16), issue 2
Original article
Revision of the Psammothidium germainii complex (Bacillariophyta) in the Maritime Antarctic Region
Bart Van de Vijver, Kateřina Kopalová, Ralitsa Zidarova
Fottea 2016, 16(2):145-156 | DOI: 10.5507/fot.2016.008 
Psammothidium germainii is a widespread freshwater monoraphid diatom species in the Antarctic Region. Detailed analysis of the populations in the different parts of the Antarctic Region revealed the presence of several species that were lumped under the name 'P. germainii'. The type material of both Achnanthes germainii and Achnanthes ninckei has been investigated to allow a better morphological delimitation of both taxa and to better characterize the new taxa. Two new taxa are proposed: Psammothidium rostrogermainii sp. nov., typical for its rostrate apices and its rather distantly spaced stria pattern, and Psammothidium...
Contribution to the genus Diploneis (Bacillariophyta): Twelve species from Holarctic freshwater habitats proposed as new to science
Horst Lange-Bertalot, André Fuhrmann
Fottea 2016, 16(2):157-183 | DOI: 10.5507/fot.2015.027
Numerous questionable extant populations of Diploneis with cribrate areolae are morphologically compared (in LM and SEM) to resembling established taxa. In most of these examinations the types are available and documented in the literature by several authors during the last forty years. All taxa in question belong ecologically to the minority of Diploneis that live exclusively in freshwater. As main result twelve species from Europe and one from Florida, U.S.A., are selected and proposed as new to science. These are: D. abscondita, D. calcilacustris, D. hinziae, D. lusatica, D. modicahassiaca, D. oblongellopsis, D. praetermissa, D....
Germainiella clandestina sp. nov. (Bacillariophyta), a new species in a little known diatom genus
René Le Cohu, Amélie Barthès, Joséphine Leflaive, Loïc Ten-Hage
Fottea 2016, 16(2):184-188 | DOI: 10.5507/fot.2016.005
A species new to science, Germainiella clandestina, was discovered during experiments performed in an artificial freshwater channel. This species is described based on valve morphology typical for the genus Germainiella Lange-Bertalot et Metzeltin. The major features conforming to Germainiella are the valve face as well as a part of the mantle covered by a conopeum and the presence of very small apertures corresponding to a subconopeum canal system close to the raphe fissure. These characters clearly differentiate this taxon from the two more related genera, namely Fallacia Stickle et Mann and Pseudofallacia occulta...
Dolichospermum uruguayense sp. nov., a planktic nostocacean cyanobacterium from the Lower Uruguay River, South America
Eliška Kozlíková-Zapomělová, Graciela Ferrari, María del Carmen Pérez
Fottea 2016, 16(2):189-200 | DOI: 10.5507/fot.2016.009
Abstract: Massive cyanobacterial blooms frequently occur in the Uruguay River, one of the largest rivers in South America. A heterocytous morphospecies of unique morphology has been repeatedly observed in the river since 2006 in rather high abundances. This morphospecies was preliminarily reported as Anabaena spiroides and Dolichospermum cf. pseudocompactum, but its morphology does not fully correspond with the description of these species, neither with definitions of any Dolichospermum species described so far. A clonal strain designated "strain7" was isolated in 2010 from the Lower Uruguay River and thoroughly characterised...
Navicula nielsfogedii J.C. Taylor & Cocquyt sp. nov., a new diatom (Bacillariophyta) from tropical and sub-tropical Africa
Jonathan C. Taylor, Christine Cocquyt, Shigeki Mayama
Fottea 2016, 16(2):201-208 | DOI: 10.5507/fot.2016.015
In this paper we describe Navicula nielsfogedii sp. nov., a commonly occurring diatom through central and southern Africa and distributed from the sub-tropical zones of South Africa to tropical central Africa. We have examined the material of the most closely related species described from Africa, Navicula feuerbornii f. africana Foged and suggest that this species may be conspecific with Navicula heimansioides Lange-Bertalot and to have no link to the taxon N. feuerbornii Hustedt sensu Simonsen. With reference to Navicula feuerbornii f. africana we also discuss the changes over time in diatom species...
A simple method to test the reproducibility of the phylogenetic reconstructions: the molecular systematics of cyanobacteria as a case study
Andrea Paparini, Elvina Lee, Andrew Bath, Cameron Gordon, Una M. Ryan
Fottea 2016, 16(2):209-217 | DOI: 10.5507/fot.2015.030
Molecular systematics uses currently available data to produce the best approximation to the true (un-observable) phylogeny of a taxon. Molecular phylogeny complements morphological identification and classification of organisms, in order to infer their evolutionary relationships. In the current era dominated by cultivation-independent surveys, testing the potential technical and analytical pitfalls and limitations of environmental DNA surveys appears crucial. Sequence-based phylogenetic reconstructions rely on three main steps: alignment, alignment curation and tree building. Several independent options and settings can be adopted at each step, but...
Two new fossil Cyclotella (Kützing) Brébisson species from Lake Ohrid, Macedonia/Albania
Slavica Tofilovska, Aleksandra Cvetkoska, Elena Jovanovska, Nadja Ognjanova-Rumenova, Zlatko Levkov
Fottea 2016, 16(2):218-233 | DOI: 10.5507/fot.2016.003
Lake Ohrid is the oldest existing lake in Europe and it is known for its high diversity with around 200 endemic or relict diatom species recognized. In order to understand this phenomenon, a large project on deep drilling was performed and a core with maximum sediment depth of 569 m which spans > 1.2 million years was recovered. Two new species of Cyclotella were discovered in the core samples, which are described here as Cyclotella cavitata sp. nov. and Cyclotella sollevata sp. nov. The species have been studied with light and scanning electron microscopes, their morphological features and their relevance to other members of...
Conference proceedings
Multifaceted characterization of a Lemanea fluviatilis population (Batrachospermales, Rhodophyta) from a glacial stream in the south-eastern Alps
Abdullah A. Saber, Marco Cantonati, Morgan L. Vis, Andrea Anesi, Graziano Guella
Fottea 2016, 16(2):234-243 | DOI: 10.5507/fot.2016.014
The aim of this study was a combined and multifaceted characterization (morphological, molecular, lipid, pigment, and ecological data) of a Lemanea (freshwater red alga) population from the south-eastern Alps, exploring its adaptive strategies to the montane habitat, (turbulent, very-cold glacial stream with extremely low-conductivity). Although the thalli were small (only up to 1 cm), the morphology was within the current circumscription of Lemanea fluviatilis. The molecular data placed this population within a clade of specimens identified as L. fluviatilis and L. fucina. This L. fluviatilis population was determined...
Microhabitat patterns of soft-bodied benthic algae in a lowland river largely fed by groundwater
Rossano Bolpagni, Alex Laini
Fottea 2016, 16(2):244-254 | DOI: 10.5507/fot.2016.007
In lowland rivers largely fed by groundwater, the aquifer resurgence plays a major role in supporting local plant diversity. However, large knowledge gaps exist with regard the role of groundwater on algal diversity and spatial arrangement. In this context, our main aim was to evaluate the distributive gradients of soft-bodied benthic algae across a mid-size lowland river with a bottom dominated by hard substrate (Oglio River, north Italy). Along the investigated river sector, a clear segregation both for taxa and for environmental data was observed, especially in terms of pH, hydrological variables and nutrient availability. Overall, we recorded an...
A new Navicula (Bacillariophyta) species from low-elevation carbonate springs affected by anthropogenic disturbance
Marco Cantonati*, Nicola Angeli, Daniel Spitale, Horst Lange-Bertalot
Fottea 2016, 16(2):255-265 | DOI: 10.5507/fot.2016.013
Diatom assemblages in carbonate spring habitats at low elevations, with low discharge, and affected by direct human impacts were studied only recently and in some geographic areas. We describe and characterize the ecology of a new Navicula species from springs with these characteristics within the basin of the River Adige in the south-eastern Alps and Alpine foothills (Province of Verona, Italy). Navicula veronensis sp. nov. is in the group of species around N. cincta but has distinct outline, size, central area, and proximal raphe endings. The availability of data on the distribution of the new species in streams of the Island...
Book review
Freshwater Algae of North America: book review
Aloisie Poulíčková, Petr Dvořák, Petr Hašler
Fottea 2016, 16(2)
We frequently utilized the first edition of this book for educational purposes, because it provides an excellent summarization of the most important characteristics of freshwater microalgae of the temperate zone (Wehr & Sheath 2003). Thus, we welcome new edition and we expect that it will become the basic guide for phycologists during the next decade. New edition is a result of fruitful cooperation of a large author collective, mostly composed of top specialists in phycology. It is worthy to buy second edition containing updated references, illustrations, methods and approaches. Moreover, an alteration of species concepts, which is a result...