Taxonomic evaluation of cyanobacterial microflora from alkaline marshes of northern Belize. 3. Diversity of heterocytous genera

The third part of the review of phenotype diversity of cyanobacterial assemblages from alkaline marshes in northern Belize includes species from heterocytous cyanobacterial families. The study was performed as a part of a long-term investigation of anthropogenic influences on marshes of this tropical country. The previous parts (coccoid and simple filamentous genera) were published in 2007 and 2009. As in these parts, the main study of natural populations was primarily based on the morphology of natural samples, and in four cases, when cultivation was successful, the results were supported by the 16S rRNA gene sequence method. A total of 21 recognizable morphospecies with distinct ecology and morphology were identified in samples collected between 2000 and 2011. From this set of taxa, several species correspond to cyanobacteria described by previous authors, with two nomenclatural combinations, six distinct species were described as new taxa from known genera, and in one case, the definition of a unique genus Dictyophoron was necessary, supported by gene sequencing. All new taxa were described with respect to their different and unique morphological and ecological separation and specific life cycles recognizable in natural populations, using the main principles of International Code of Nomenclature for algae, fungi, and plants. According to the floristic analysis, the composition of cyanobacterial microflora of marshes was found to be distinctive for the Caribbean as compared to similar localities of this region.