scholarly journals Current Techniques for Detecting and Monitoring Algal Toxins and Causative Harmful Algal Blooms

2019 ◽  
Vol 2 ◽  
Author(s):  
Blagoy Uzunov ◽  
Maya Stoyneva-Gärtner ◽  
Georg Gärtner ◽  
Mariana Radkova ◽  
Katerina Stefanova

The results from the investigation of the phytoplankton in nine shallow wetlands, situated in Central and Eastern Bulgaria, conducted in the frame of recent projects related to identifying harmful algal blooms and algal toxins in the country are demonstrated. Therefore, the focus is on the cyanoprokaryotes and their toxigenic species in particular. The species were identified using conventional light microscopy, while for distinguishing the toxigenic species and strains PCR-based molecular methods were applied. Cyanoprokaryotes comprised about 30% of the total phytoplankton biodiversity of the studied wetlands and were unevenly spread among them. The presence and spread of toxigenic strains in the studied wetlands also did not show any strong geographical pattern. Taxonomic problems related with the evaluation of the real cyanoprokaryotic biodiversity and potential alien or invasive character of the morphospecies are discussed.


2014 ◽  
Vol 281 (1781) ◽  
pp. 20133316 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicholas D. Pyenson ◽  
Carolina S. Gutstein ◽  
James F. Parham ◽  
Jacobus P. Le Roux ◽  
Catalina Carreño Chavarría ◽  
...  

Marine mammal mass strandings have occurred for millions of years, but their origins defy singular explanations. Beyond human causes, mass strandings have been attributed to herding behaviour, large-scale oceanographic fronts and harmful algal blooms (HABs). Because algal toxins cause organ failure in marine mammals, HABs are the most common mass stranding agent with broad geographical and widespread taxonomic impact. Toxin-mediated mortalities in marine food webs have the potential to occur over geological timescales, but direct evidence for their antiquity has been lacking. Here, we describe an unusually dense accumulation of fossil marine vertebrates from Cerro Ballena, a Late Miocene locality in Atacama Region of Chile, preserving over 40 skeletons of rorqual whales, sperm whales, seals, aquatic sloths, walrus-whales and predatory bony fish. Marine mammal skeletons are distributed in four discrete horizons at the site, representing a recurring accumulation mechanism. Taphonomic analysis points to strong spatial focusing with a rapid death mechanism at sea, before being buried on a barrier-protected supratidal flat. In modern settings, HABs are the only known natural cause for such repeated, multispecies accumulations. This proposed agent suggests that upwelling zones elsewhere in the world should preserve fossil marine vertebrate accumulations in similar modes and densities.


2014 ◽  
Vol 57 (01) ◽  
pp. 16-21 ◽  
Author(s):  
Etran Bouchouar ◽  
Samantha Bruzzese ◽  
Chelsea Pyles ◽  
Kate Stechyshyn

Harmful algal blooms (HABs) are increasing worldwide as a result of climate change and global marine traffic. HABs contain high concentrations of algal toxins. Toxin contaminated shellfish cannot be detected by taste, sight, or smell; the toxins are heat-stable and therefore are not destroyed by cooking. Human consumption of toxin-contaminated shellfish leads to illness. Treatment of shellfish poisoning is limited to symptom management. The burden of shellfish poisoning in humans is often underestimated, and the effects of chronic exposure are unknown. Currently there are regulatory practices for shellfish monitoring in Canada and the United States. Yet there is poor communication of HAB risks to the public.


2010 ◽  
Vol 138 (7) ◽  
pp. 927-940 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. J. JAMES ◽  
B. CAREY ◽  
J. O'HALLORAN ◽  
F. N. A. M. van PELT ◽  
Z. ŠKRABÁKOVÁ

SUMMARYFive major human toxic syndromes caused by the consumption of shellfish contaminated by algal toxins are presented. The increased risks to humans of shellfish toxicity from the prevalence of harmful algal blooms (HABs) may be a consequence of large-scale ecological changes from anthropogenic activities, especially increased eutrophication, marine transport and aquaculture, and global climate change. Improvements in toxin detection methods and increased toxin surveillance programmes are positive developments in limiting human exposure to shellfish toxins.


Shore & Beach ◽  
2020 ◽  
pp. 34-43
Author(s):  
Nicole Elko ◽  
Tiffany Roberts Briggs

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.


Harmful Algae ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 101975
Author(s):  
Donald M. Anderson ◽  
Elizabeth Fensin ◽  
Christopher J. Gobler ◽  
Alicia E. Hoeglund ◽  
Katherine A. Hubbard ◽  
...  

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