Climate change will boost the invasion of the harmful cyanobacterium Raphidiopsis raciborskii in South America

The invasive cyanobacterium species Raphidiopsis raciborskii was first recorded in the Indo-Malaysian region in 1899, and studies currently report its presence in tropical, subtropical, and temperate environments around the world. In addition to its plasticity in colonizing new environments, R. raciborskii deserves attention for its ability to produce saxitoxin and cylindrospermopsin, which can cause the death of aquatic organisms and harm human health. In this work, we assessed the effect of global climate change towards the end of this century on the potential expansion of R. raciborskii using ecological niche models (ENMs). We applied a set of machine learning algorithms within the ensemble prediction approach to estimate the potential distribution of the species in South America under projected climate change, considering different carbon emission scenarios. In the moderate scenario, the northern Amazon basin, the southern Orinoco basin, and part of the North Atlantic basin showed increased environmental suitability for the species. In the pessimistic scenario, the basin with the greatest increase in suitability was the Paraná-Paraguay basin. Several basins remained highly suitable in both current and future scenarios, especially in Brazil. This study highlights the importance of understanding and addressing the impacts of climate change on the distribution of the invasive species R. raciborskii. South American countries must implement monitoring measures to assess the expansion of blooms of this species, as well as government actions to control water quality, given the strong impact of these organisms on biodiversity and ecosystem services.