scholarly journals Domoic Acid and Pseudo-nitzschia spp. Connected to Coastal Upwelling along Coastal Inhambane Province, Mozambique: A New Area of Concern

Toxins ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (12) ◽  
pp. 903
Author(s):  
Holly Kelchner ◽  
Katie E. Reeve-Arnold ◽  
Kathryn M. Schreiner ◽  
Sibel Bargu ◽  
Kim G. Roques ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Human Health ◽  
Harmful Algal Blooms ◽  
Algal Blooms ◽  
Domoic Acid ◽  
East Coast ◽  
Coastal Upwelling ◽  
Monitoring Program ◽  
Phytoplankton Assemblage ◽  
Rhincodon Typus ◽  
Area Of Concern

Harmful algal blooms (HABs) are increasing globally in frequency, persistence, and geographic extent, posing a threat to ecosystem and human health. To date, no occurrences of marine phycotoxins have been recorded in Mozambique, which may be due to absence of a monitoring program and general awareness of potential threats. This study is the first documentation of neurotoxin, domoic acid (DA), produced by the diatom Pseudo-nitzschia along the east coast of Africa. Coastal Inhambane Province is a biodiversity hotspot where year-round Rhincodon typus (whale shark) sightings are among the highest globally and support an emerging ecotourism industry. Links between primary productivity and biodiversity in this area have not previously been considered or reported. During a pilot study, from January 2017 to April 2018, DA was identified year-round, peaking during Austral winter. During an intense study between May and August 2018, our research focused on identifying environmental factors influencing coastal productivity and DA concentration. Phytoplankton assemblage was diatom-dominated, with high abundances of Pseudo-nitzschia spp. Data suggest the system was influenced by nutrient pulses resulting from coastal upwelling. Continued and comprehensive monitoring along southern Mozambique would provide critical information to assess ecosystem and human health threats from marine toxins under challenges posed by global change.

scholarly journals Marine Neurotoxins’ Effects on Environmental and Human Health: An OMICS Overview

Marine Drugs ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
pp. 18
Author(s):  
Sophie Guillotin ◽  
Nicolas Delcourt
Keyword(s):  
Human Health ◽  
Metabolic Pathways ◽  
Harmful Algal Blooms ◽  
Algal Blooms ◽  
Domoic Acid ◽  
Protein Profile ◽  
Aquatic Organisms ◽  
Comprehensive Overview ◽  
Toxic Metabolites ◽  
Marine Wildlife

Harmful algal blooms (HAB), and the consequent release of toxic metabolites, can be responsible for seafood poisoning outbreaks. Marine wildlife can accumulate these toxins throughout the food chain, which presents a threat to consumers’ health. Some of these toxins, such as saxitoxin (STX), domoic acid (DA), ciguatoxin (CTX), brevetoxin (BTX), tetrodotoxin (TTX), and β-N-methylamino-L-alanine (BMAA), cause severe neurological symptoms in humans. Considerable information is missing, however, notably the consequences of toxin exposures on changes in gene expression, protein profile, and metabolic pathways. This information could lead to understanding the consequence of marine neurotoxin exposure in aquatic organisms and humans. Nevertheless, recent contributions to the knowledge of neurotoxins arise from OMICS-based research, such as genomics, transcriptomics, proteomics, and metabolomics. This review presents a comprehensive overview of the most recent research and of the available solutions to explore OMICS datasets in order to identify new features in terms of ecotoxicology, food safety, and human health. In addition, future perspectives in OMICS studies are discussed.

scholarly journals Pseudo-nitzschia Blooms in a Coastal Upwelling System: Remote Sensing Detection, Toxicity and Environmental Variables

Water ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (9) ◽  
pp. 1954 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jesus M. Torres Palenzuela ◽  
Luis González Vilas ◽  
Francisco M. Bellas ◽  
Elina Garet ◽  
África González-Fernández ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Remote Sensing ◽  
Harmful Algal Blooms ◽  
Algal Blooms ◽  
Domoic Acid ◽  
Coastal Upwelling ◽  
Empirical Models ◽  
Full Resolution ◽  
Shellfish Farming ◽  
Sensing Model ◽  
Key Variables

The NW coast of the Iberian Peninsula is dominated by extensive shellfish farming, which places this region as a world leader in mussel production. Harmful algal blooms in the area frequent lead to lengthy harvesting closures threatening food security. This study developed a framework for the detection of Pseudo-nitzschia blooms in the Galician rias from satellite data (MERIS full-resolution images) and identified key variables that affect their abundance and toxicity. Two events of toxin-containing Pseudo-nitzschia were detected (up to 2.5 μg L−1 pDA) in the area. This study suggests that even moderate densities of Pseudo-nitzschia in this area might indicate high toxin content. Empirical models for particulate domoic acid (pDA) were developed based on MERIS FR data. The resulting remote-sensing model, including MERIS bands centered around 510, 560, and 620 nm explain 73% of the pDA variance (R2 = 0.73, p < 0.001). The results show that higher salinity values and lower Si(OH)4/N ratios favour higher Pseudo-nitzschia spp. abundances. High pDA values seem to be associated with relatively high PO43, low NO3− concentrations, and low Si(OH)4/N. While MERIS FR data and regionally specific algorithms can be useful for detecting Pseudo-nitzschia blooms, nutrient relationships are crucial for predicting the toxicity of these blooms.

Marine Heat Waves in the Peruvian Upwelling System: from 5-day localized warming to year-long El Niños

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alice Pietri ◽  
François Colas ◽  
Mogollon Rodrigo ◽  
Jorge Tam ◽  
Dimitri Gutierrez
Keyword(s):  
Hot Spots ◽  
Harmful Algal Blooms ◽  
Algal Blooms ◽  
Spatial Organization ◽  
Coastal Upwelling ◽  
Heat Waves ◽  
Tropical Eastern Pacific ◽  
Coastal System ◽  
Upwelling System

&lt;p&gt;Extreme climatic events, such as marine heatwaves (MHWs), have been shown to globally increase in frequency and magnitude over the last decades, and can disrupt ecosystems significantly. Coastal upwelling systems, because they are biodiversity hot-spots and socioeconomic hubs, are particularly vulnerable to those rapidly developing anomalously warm marine events. The Peruvian coastal system in particular is highly exposed to climate variability because of its proximity to the equator. As such it is regularly impacted by El Ni&amp;#241;o events whose variability has been related to the longest and most intense MHWs in the region. However the intensively studied El Ni&amp;#241;o events tend to overshadow the MHWs of shorter duration that also have an important impact on the coastal environment as they can trigger other extreme events such as nearshore hypoxias and harmful algal blooms.&amp;#160;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Using 38 years of satellite sea surface temperature data, we investigate the characteristics (spatial variability, frequency, intensity and duration) and evolution of MHWs in the South Tropical Eastern Pacific, with a focus on the Peru Coastal Upwelling System. The separation of events by duration allows to identify a spectrum, from El Ni&amp;#241;o events to shorter scale MHWs. Results show that the statistical &amp;#160;distribution of MHWs properties, their spatial organization and preferential season of occurrence varies significantly in function of their duration. Besides, when removing large El Ni&amp;#241;o events, an increase of occurrences, duration and intensity is observed over the last 38 years, contrary to the reduction that is observed in the region when considering all MHWs. Finally, the possible drivers are discussed to disentangle the role of the local (wind stress) and remote (equatorial variability) forcing in function of the events duration.&lt;/p&gt;

scholarly journals Marine harmful algal blooms and human health: A systematic scoping review

Harmful Algae ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 98 ◽  
pp. 101901
Author(s):  
Nick Young ◽  
Richard A. Sharpe ◽  
Rosa Barciela ◽  
Gordon Nichols ◽  
Keith Davidson ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Human Health ◽  
Scoping Review ◽  
Harmful Algal Blooms ◽  
Algal Blooms

Pathology of Domoic Acid Toxicity in California Sea Lions (Zalophus californianus)

2005 ◽  
Vol 42 (2) ◽  
pp. 184-191 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. A. Silvagni ◽  
L. J. Lowenstine ◽  
T. Spraker ◽  
T. P. Lipscomb ◽  
F. M. D. Gulland
Keyword(s):  
Harmful Algal Blooms ◽  
Algal Blooms ◽  
Domoic Acid ◽  
Pyramidal Cells ◽  
Granular Cell ◽  
Zalophus Californianus ◽  
California Sea Lions ◽  
Neuronal Necrosis ◽  
Hydropic Degeneration ◽  
Sea Lions

Over 100 free-ranging adult California sea lions ( Zalophus californianus) and one Northern fur seal ( Callorhinus ursinus), predominantly adult females, were intoxicated by domoic acid (DA) during three harmful algal blooms between 1998 and 2000 in central and northern California coastal waters. The vector prey item was Northern anchovy ( Engraulis mordax) and the primary DA-producing algal diatom was Psuedonitzschia australis. Postmortem examination revealed gross and histologic findings that were distinctive and aided in diagnosis. A total of 109 sea lions were examined, dying between 1 day and 10 months after admission to a marine mammal rehabilitation center. Persistent seizures with obtundation were the main clinical findings. Frequent gross findings in animals dying acutely consisted of piriform lobe malacia, myocardial pallor, bronchopneumonia, and complications related to pregnancy. Gross findings in animals dying months after intoxication included bilateral hippocampal atrophy. Histologic observations implicated limbic system seizure injury consistent with excitotoxin exposure. Peracutely, there was microvesicular hydropic degeneration within the neuropil of the hippocampus, amygdala, pyriform lobe, and other limbic structures. Acutely, there was ischemic neuronal necrosis, particularly apparent in the granular cells of the dentate gyrus and the pyramidal cells within the hippocampus cornu ammonis (CA) sectors CA4, CA3, and CA1. Dentate granular cell necrosis has not been reported in human or experimental animal DA toxicity and may be unique to sea lions. Chronically, there was gliosis, mild nonsuppurative inflammation, and loss of laminar organization in affected areas.

scholarly journals Determination of Cell Abundances and Paralytic Shellfish Toxins in Cultures of the Dinoflagellate Gymnodinium catenatum by Fourier Transform Near Infrared Spectroscopy

2018 ◽  
Vol 6 (4) ◽  
pp. 147 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marta Lopes ◽  
Ana Amorim ◽  
Cecília Calado ◽  
Pedro Reis Costa
Keyword(s):  
Harmful Algal Blooms ◽  
Algal Blooms ◽  
Near Infrared ◽  
Monitoring Program ◽  
Nir Spectroscopy ◽  
Shellfish Poisoning ◽  
Toxic Algae ◽  
Paralytic Shellfish ◽  
Gymnodinium Catenatum

Harmful algal blooms are responsible worldwide for the contamination of fishery resources, with potential impacts on seafood safety and public health. Most coastal countries rely on an intense monitoring program for the surveillance of toxic algae occurrence and shellfish contamination. The present study investigates the use of near infrared (NIR) spectroscopy for the rapid in situ determination of cell concentrations of toxic algae in seawater. The paralytic shellfish poisoning (PSP) toxin-producing dinoflagellate Gymnodinium catenatum was selected for this study. The spectral modeling by partial least squares (PLS) regression based on the recorded NIR spectra enabled the building of highly accurate (R2 = 0.92) models for cell abundance. The models also provided a good correlation between toxins measured by the conventional methods (high-performance liquid chromatography with fluorescence detection (HPLC-FLD)) and the levels predicted by the PLS/NIR models. This study represents the first necessary step in investigating the potential of application of NIR spectroscopy for algae bloom detection and alerting.

scholarly journals Economic impact of harmful algal blooms on human health: a systematic review

2019 ◽  
Vol 17 (4) ◽  
pp. 499-516 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christian R. C. Kouakou ◽  
Thomas G. Poder
Keyword(s):  
Systematic Review ◽  
Economic Impact ◽  
Human Health ◽  
Harmful Algal Blooms ◽  
Algal Blooms ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Global Network ◽  
Economic Losses ◽  
Health Costs ◽  
Life Years

Abstract Harmful algal blooms (HABs) damage human activities and health. While there is wide literature on economic losses, little is known about the economic impact on human health. In this review, we systematically retrieved papers which presented health costs following exposure to HABs. A systematic review was conducted up to January 2019 in databases such as ScienceDirect and PubMed, and 16 studies were selected. Health costs included healthcare and medication expenses, loss of income due to illness, cost of pain and suffering, and cost of death. Two categories of illness (digestive and respiratory) were considered for health costs. For digestive illness cost, we found $86, $1,015 and $12,605, respectively, for mild, moderate and severe cases. For respiratory illness, costs were $86, $1,235 and $14,600, respectively, for mild, moderate and severe cases. We used Quality-Adjusted Life Years (QALYs) to access the loss of well-being due to illness caused by HABs. We found that breathing difficulty causes the most loss of QALYs, especially in children, with a loss of between 0.16 and 0.771 per child. Having gastroenteritis could cause a loss of between 2.2 and 7.1 QALYs per 1,000 children. Misleading symptoms of illness following exposure to HABs could cause bias in health costs estimations. This article has been made Open Access thanks to the generous support of a global network of libraries as part of the Knowledge Unlatched Select initiative.

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