scholarly journals Perceived global increase in algal blooms is attributable to intensified monitoring and emerging bloom impacts

2021 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Gustaaf M. Hallegraeff ◽  
Donald M. Anderson ◽  
Catherine Belin ◽  
Marie-Yasmine Dechraoui Bottein ◽  
Eileen Bresnan ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Harmful Algal Blooms ◽  
Algal Blooms ◽  
Temporal Trends ◽  
Empirical Support ◽  
Harmful Algae ◽  
Global Trends ◽  
Natural Systems ◽  
Regional Trends ◽  
Monitoring Effort ◽  
Global Increase

AbstractGlobal trends in the occurrence, toxicity and risk posed by harmful algal blooms to natural systems, human health and coastal economies are poorly constrained, but are widely thought to be increasing due to climate change and nutrient pollution. Here, we conduct a statistical analysis on a global dataset extracted from the Harmful Algae Event Database and Ocean Biodiversity Information System for the period 1985–2018 to investigate temporal trends in the frequency and distribution of marine harmful algal blooms. We find no uniform global trend in the number of harmful algal events and their distribution over time, once data were adjusted for regional variations in monitoring effort. Varying and contrasting regional trends were driven by differences in bloom species, type and emergent impacts. Our findings suggest that intensified monitoring efforts associated with increased aquaculture production are responsible for the perceived increase in harmful algae events and that there is no empirical support for broad statements regarding increasing global trends. Instead, trends need to be considered regionally and at the species level.

scholarly journals Harmful Algal Blooms: Physiology, Behavior, Population Dynamics and Global Impacts- A Review

2005 ◽  
Vol 10 ◽  
pp. 1
Author(s):  
H.M. Al-Ghelani ◽  
A.Y.A AlKindi ◽  
S. Amer ◽  
Y.K Al-Akhzami
Keyword(s):  
Harmful Algal Blooms ◽  
Algal Blooms ◽  
Global Climate ◽  
Algal Species ◽  
Molecular Probes ◽  
Screening Methods ◽  
Global Climate Changes ◽  
Global Impacts ◽  
Anthropogenic Loading ◽  
Global Increase

Harmful, toxic algae are now considered as one of the important players in the newly emerging environmental risk factors. The apparent global increase in harmful algal blooms (HABs) is becoming a serious problem in both aquaculture and fisheries populations. Not only has the magnitude and intensity of public health and economic impacts of these blooms increased in recent years, but the number of geographic locations experiencing toxic algal blooms has also increased dramatically. There are two primary factors causing HABs outbreaks. The natural processes such as upwelling and relaxation, and the anthropogenic loading resulting in eutrophication. However, the influence of global climate changes on algal bloom phenomenon cannot be ignored. The problem warrants development of effective strategies for the management and mitigation of HABs. Progress made in the routine coastal monitoring programs, development of methods for detection of algal species and toxins and coastal modeling activities for predicting HABs reflect the international concerns regarding the impacts of HABs. Innovative techniques using molecular probes will hopefully result in development of rapid, reliable screening methods for phycotoxins and the causative organisms.            

scholarly journals Filtration of the Microalga Amphidinium carterae by the Polychaetes Sabella spallanzanii and Branchiomma luctuosum: A New Tool for the Control of Harmful Algal Blooms?

2022 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 156
Author(s):  
Loredana Stabili ◽  
Margherita Licciano ◽  
Adriana Giangrande ◽  
Carmela Caroppo
Keyword(s):  
Human Health ◽  
Harmful Algal Blooms ◽  
Algal Blooms ◽  
Feeding Activity ◽  
Marine Ecosystem ◽  
Harmful Algae ◽  
Retention Efficiency ◽  
Amphidinium Carterae ◽  
Negative Impacts ◽  
Harmful Microalgae

Harmful algal blooms (HABs) are extreme biological events representing a major issue in marine, brackish, and freshwater systems worldwide. Their proliferation is certainly a problem from both ecological and socioeconomic contexts, as harmful algae can affect human health and activities, the marine ecosystem functioning, and the economy of coastal areas. Once HABs establish, valuable and environmentally friendly control actions are needed to reduce their negative impacts. In this study, the influence exerted by the filter-feeding activity of the two sabellid polychaetes Branchiomma luctuosum (Grube) and Sabella spallanzanii (Gmelin) on a harmful dinoflagellate was investigated. Clearance rates (C) and retention efficiencies were estimated by employing the microalga Amphidinium carterae Hulburt. The Cmax was 1.15 ± 0.204 L h−1 g−1 DW for B. luctuosum and 0.936 ± 0.151 L h−1 g−1 DW for S. spallanzanii. The retention efficiency was 72% for B. luctuosum and 68% for S. spallanzanii. Maximum retention was recorded after 30 min for both species. The obtained results contribute to the knowledge of the two polychaetes’ filtration activity and to characterize the filtration process on harmful microalgae in light of the protection of water resources and human health. Both species, indeed, were extremely efficient in removing A. carterae from seawater, thus suggesting their employment as a new tool in mitigation technologies for the control of harmful algae in marine environments, as well as in the aquaculture facilities where HABs are one of the most critical threats.

scholarly journals Suitcase Lab: new, portable, and deployable equipment for rapid detection of specific harmful algae in Chilean coastal waters

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
So Fujiyoshi ◽  
Kyoko Yarimizu ◽  
Yohei Miyashita ◽  
Joaquín Rilling ◽  
Jacquelinne J. Acuña ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Coastal Waters ◽  
Rapid Detection ◽  
Harmful Algal Blooms ◽  
Algal Blooms ◽  
Lamp Assay ◽  
Field Studies ◽  
Harmful Algae ◽  
Molecular Diagnostic ◽  
Alexandrium Catenella ◽  
Molecular Diagnostic Test

AbstractPhytoplankton blooms, including harmful algal blooms (HABs), have serious impacts on ecosystems, public health, and productivity activities. Rapid detection and monitoring of marine microalgae are important in predicting and managing HABs. We developed a toolkit, the Suitcase Lab, to detect harmful algae species in the field. We demonstrated the Suitcase Lab’s capabilities for sampling, filtration, DNA extraction, and loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) detection in cultured Alexandrium catenella cells as well as Chilean coastal waters from four sites: Repollal, Isla García, Puerto Montt, and Metri. A LAMP assay using the Suitcase Lab in the field confirmed microscopic observations of A. catenella in samples from Repollal and Isla García. The Suitcase Lab allowed the rapid detection of A. catenella, within 2 h from the time of sampling, even at a single cell per milliliter concentrations, demonstrating its usefulness for quick and qualitative on-site diagnosis of target toxic algae species. This method is applicable not only to detecting harmful algae but also to other field studies that seek a rapid molecular diagnostic test.

scholarly journals Marine Biotoxins and Seafood Poisoning

Toxins ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (10) ◽  
pp. 558
Author(s):  
Pedro Reis Costa ◽  
António Marques ◽  
Jorge Diogène
Keyword(s):  
Harmful Algal Blooms ◽  
Algal Blooms ◽  
Temporal Distribution ◽  
Harmful Algae ◽  
Marine Biotoxins ◽  
Frequency Intensity

Prevalence of marine biotoxins in seafood has been associated with increasing frequency, intensity, and duration of harmful algal blooms, and an increase of the geographical and temporal distribution of harmful algae [...]

scholarly journals Harmful algal blooms and climate change: exploring future distribution changes

2018 ◽  
Vol 75 (6) ◽  
pp. 1882-1893 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bryony L Townhill ◽  
Jonathan Tinker ◽  
Miranda Jones ◽  
Sophie Pitois ◽  
Veronique Creach ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Harmful Algal Blooms ◽  
Algal Blooms ◽  
Marine Mammals ◽  
Algal Species ◽  
Early Warning Systems ◽  
Species Distribution Modelling ◽  
Harmful Algae ◽  
Climate Projections ◽  
North West

Abstract Harmful algae can cause death in fish, shellfish, marine mammals, and humans, via their toxins or from effects associated with their sheer quantity. There are many species, which cause a variety of problems around north-west Europe, and the frequency and distribution of algal blooms have altered in the recent past. Species distribution modelling was used to understand how harmful algal species may respond in the future to climate change, by considering environmental preferences and how these may shift. Most distribution studies to date use low resolution global model outputs. In this study, high resolution, downscaled shelf seas climate projections for the north-west European shelf were nested within lower resolution global projections, to understand how the distribution of harmful algae may change by the mid to end of century. Projections suggest that the habitat of most species (defined by temperature, salinity, depth, and stratification) will shift north this century, with suitability increasing in the central and northern North Sea. An increase in occurrence here might lead to more frequent detrimental blooms if wind, irradiance and nutrient levels are also suitable. Prioritizing monitoring of species in these susceptible areas could help in establishing early-warning systems for aquaculture and health protection schemes.

scholarly journals Harmful Algae and Oceanographic Conditions in the Strait of Georgia, Canada Based on Citizen Science Monitoring

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Svetlana Esenkulova ◽  
Karyn D. Suchy ◽  
Rich Pawlowicz ◽  
Maycira Costa ◽  
Isobel A. Pearsall
Keyword(s):  
Citizen Science ◽  
Harmful Algal Blooms ◽  
Algal Blooms ◽  
Chemical Properties ◽  
Harmful Algae ◽  
Environmental Drivers ◽  
Economic Losses ◽  
Fish Farms ◽  
Negative Effects ◽  
Strait Of Georgia

In British Columbia (BC), harmful algal blooms (HABs) regularly cause severe economic losses through finfish mortalities and shellfish harvest closures due to toxin accumulation, gill damage, or hypoxia. As there is no routine governmental monitoring of HAB phenomena in BC, HAB variability, and its potential links to environmental drivers are not well understood. Here we present results from a well-managed citizen science program which collected an unprecedented 4 year, high-resolution (∼bi-monthly, ∼80 stations) dataset of harmful algae (HA) concentrations and corresponding physical and chemical properties of seawater throughout the Strait of Georgia (SoG), BC. Analysis of this dataset revealed statistically significant interannual and seasonal relationships between environmental drivers and the most common HA taxa: Rhizosolenia setigera, Dictyocha spp., Alexandrium spp., Heterosigma akashiwo, Chaetoceros convolutus, and C. concavicornis. HABs exhibited significant interannual variations; specifically, no HABs were found during the summer of 2015, blooms of Dictyocha occurred in 2016 and 2017, and dense blooms of Heterosigma and Noctiluca occurred in 2018. In addition, HA prevalence corresponded with negative effects observed in local aquaculture facilities where higher toxins concentrations (causing Paralytic and Diarrhetic Shellfish Poisonings) in shellfish flesh were detected during years with greater abundance of Alexandrium and Dinophysis. Furthermore, salmon mass mortality at fish farms corresponded to years with high concentrations of Heterosigma and Dictyocha. As such, these results highlight the need for long-term data to evaluate the potential role of HA as a stressor on the SoG ecosystem.

National coastal management challenges and needs

Shore & Beach ◽  
2020 ◽  
pp. 34-43
Author(s):  
Nicole Elko ◽  
Tiffany Roberts Briggs
Keyword(s):  
Coastal Management ◽  
Harmful Algal Blooms ◽  
Algal Blooms ◽  
Local Community ◽  
Extreme Event ◽  
Technical Information ◽  
Interdisciplinary Approach ◽  
Beach Erosion ◽  
The U.S

In partnership with the U.S. Geological Survey Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program (USGS CMHRP) and the U.S. Coastal Research Program (USCRP), the American Shore and Beach Preservation Association (ASBPA) has identified coastal stakeholders’ top coastal management challenges. Informed by two annual surveys, a multiple-choice online poll was conducted in 2019 to evaluate stakeholders’ most pressing problems and needs, including those they felt most ill-equipped to deal with in their day-to-day duties and which tools they most need to address these challenges. The survey also explored where users find technical information and what is missing. From these results, USGS CMHRP, USCRP, ASBPA, and other partners aim to identify research needs that will inform appropriate investments in useful science, tools, and resources to address today’s most pressing coastal challenges. The 15-question survey yielded 134 complete responses with an 80% completion rate from coastal stakeholders such as local community representatives and their industry consultants, state and federal agency representatives, and academics. Respondents from the East, Gulf, West, and Great Lakes coasts, as well as Alaska and Hawaii, were represented. Overall, the prioritized coastal management challenges identified by the survey were: Deteriorating ecosystems leading to reduced (environmental, recreational, economic, storm buffer) functionality, Increasing storminess due to climate change (i.e. more frequent and intense impacts), Coastal flooding, both Sea level rise and associated flooding (e.g. nuisance flooding, king tides), and Combined effects of rainfall and surge on urban flooding (i.e. episodic, short-term), Chronic beach erosion (i.e. high/increasing long-term erosion rates), and Coastal water quality, including harmful algal blooms (e.g. red tide, sargassum). A careful, systematic, and interdisciplinary approach should direct efforts to identify specific research needed to tackle these challenges. A notable shift in priorities from erosion to water-related challenges was recorded from respondents with organizations initially formed for beachfront management. In addition, affiliation-specific and regional responses varied, such as Floridians concern more with harmful algal blooms than any other human and ecosystem health related challenge. The most common need for additional coastal management tools and strategies related to adaptive coastal management to maintain community resilience and continuous storm barriers (dunes, structures), as the top long-term and extreme event needs, respectively. In response to questions about missing information that agencies can provide, respondents frequently mentioned up-to-date data on coastal systems and solutions to challenges as more important than additional tools.

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