Marine Ecotoxicology of Cyanobacteria

Dear Colleagues,

Cyanobacteria have an old marine history, dating back almost three billion years ago, as evidenced in the stromatolites Precambrian fossils. They are widely distributed in the marine environment, from brackish estuaries to coastal and open ocean. Toxic cyanobacterial blooms have been a primary concern, predominantly in the plankton of freshwater bodies. Recently, however, the diversity of planktonic and benthic cyanobacteria is increasingly attracting attention of the scientific community in the marine environment. Revival of interest in marine cyanobacteria was generated by the study of marine picoplankton and its contribution to the primary production of ocean, while benthic and planktonic filamentous cyanobacteria have attracted the attention of scientists as important factors in the nitrogen cycle in the ocean, as well as producers of various toxins and bioactive secondary metabolites. Effects of eutrophication and climatic change are expected to further enhance the expansion of cyanobacterial blooms in marine environments, especially in estuaries and coastal zones. The occurrence of these cyanobacterial blooms and their toxins presents a threat to marine organisms and human health when they are transferred along the food chain.

This Special Issue aims to focus on compilation of current state-of-the-art and future perspectives in marine ecotoxicology of cyanobacteria, mainly with regard to:

• Diversity and ecology of marine cyanobacteria,
• Marine symbiotic cyanobacteria,
• Chemical diversity of marine cyanotoxins,
• Dynamics of cyanotoxins in marine organisms and their ecotoxicological impacts,
• Transfer of cyanotoxins in the marine food chain and associated threats to animal and human heath,
• Laboratory, field, and modeling approaches to the above issues.

Dr. Noureddine Bouaïcha
Guest Editor

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• Marine cyanobacteria
• Symbiotic cyanobacteria
• Cyanotoxins
• Ecotoxicity of cyanotoxins
• Food chain
• Human and animal health