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Harmful Algae News
An IOC Newsletter on Toxic Algae and Algal Blooms
No. 67 - April 2021 · www.ioc-unesco.org/hab
SHIOHIGARI and PSP toxins in Japan:
Initiatives to save traditional recreatio
nal clam picking Content
Featured articles
Shiohigari has been enjoyed by people fish toxins levels exceed the regulatory SHIOHIGARI and PSP toxins in
in Japan for centuries, as depicted in the limit. Japan: Initiatives to save tradi-
Japanese art style Ukiyo-e by the art- In Japan, people can enjoy clamming tional recreational clamming
ist Hiroshige in 1852 (Fig. 1). Although in two different locations: coastal ar- (Kazumi Wakita) .............................. 1
much time has passed since Hiroshige’s eas where anyone can take clams from
day, today Shiohigari remains a popular their natural habitat free of charge and HABs and the Mixoplankton
marine recreational activity. It is a tra- clamming parks, where an entrance fee Paradigm (Aditee Mitra &
ditional as well as recreational spring- is charged and the clams are under the Kevin Flynn) . ..................................... 4
time event, when crowds of people control of the operators of the clam- New high biomass HAB events
flock to tidelands to gather shells dur- ming park. In most cases, the operators Massive bloom of Th. mala in
ing low tide. Nowadays, Shiohigari is a of these clamming parks are fisheries the mid-Atlantic . .............................. 7
rare opportunity for not only families cooperatives. These fisheries coopera-
but also schools to teach children the tives monitor growth of wild juvenile Ansanella granifera in Cuba . ....... 10
importance of conservation of marine clams and ensure enough are available
Dolichospermum spiroides in
resources and the environment. in the clamming areas so that people
Sarawak, Borneo............................... 12
In spite of the cultural importance can dig them up and take them home.
of Shiohigari, it is at risk due to the oc- They even purchase clams to ensure HABs in Brazil: new monitoring
currence of toxic algal blooms. Para- that stocks are sufficient. and community awareness
lytic shellfish poisoning (PSP) toxins In general, operators of clamming Online platform for chl a and
in bivalves (PST) exceeding regulatory parks voluntarily refrain from opening Trophic State Index ......................... 13
limits have been detected in the seas parks when PST exceeding regulatory
Remote sensing cyanoHABs
surrounding Japan [1] and almost every limit is detected to prevent shellfish
in Patos Lagoon ................................ 14
year in shellfish collected from the seas poisoning cases (Fig. 3). At clamming
along Osaka prefecture since 2002 [2]. parks in Osaka, however, they keep Akashiwo sanguinea blooms
The main causative species has been parks open by purchasing non-toxic in a tropical lagoon ......................... 16
identified as Alexandrium pacificum, clams and exchanging the non-toxic
Artisan fishermen and science
(formerly A. tamarense). Operators of ones for those collected by clammers.
communication in Rio de
recreational clamming parks in Osaka This is extraordinary.
Janeiro .................................................. 18
prefecture (Fig. 2) have taken the initia- The exchange of the non-toxic clams
tive with innovative measures to keep for those collected by clammers started International WS, training
recreational clamming parks open for at Tannowa clamming park run by Tan- and networking
Shiohigari even when paralytic shell- nowa Fisheries Cooperative. Surpris- 8th Meeting of IOCARIBE-ANCA . 20
New Zealand – Japan
cooperation ........................................ 21
Announcement: International
Plankton Intercalibration . ........... 22
ISSHA’s Corner
19th ICHA Conference...................... 23
In memoriam
María Esther Meave
del Castillo .......................................... 24
Back cover
Leif Bolding retires ......................... 25
Fig. 1 Ukiyo-e drawing of “Shiohigari” at Shinagawa seashore by Hiroshige Utagawa (from
Digital Collection of National Diet Library, Japan)
exchanging a fixed quantity of clams for
those collected by visitors to prevent
visitors from taking away too many.
Fortunately, this exchange system
worked well addressing the new chal-
lenge, i.e., how to keep the clamming
parks open despite the unexpected
detection of shellfish toxins exceeding
the regulatory limit. The fishermen of
Tannowa Fisheries Cooperative kept
the park open by ensuring the safety of
the externally purchased clams by in-
dependently getting toxin tests (Fig. 4).
The clam exchange system then spread
to other clamming parks, such as Nis-
shikinohama and Hakotsukuri (Fig. 2).
When Nishikinohama Tourism Associa-
tion, operator of Nishikinohama clam-
ming park self-closed the park when
shellfish toxins exceeded the regulatory
Fig. 2 Clamming parks in Osaka Prefecture (Modified from a digital map of The Geospatial limit in 2002, they received numerous
Information Authority of Japan) phone calls from citizens requesting the
opening of the park and enquiring the
ingly, they had developed the exchange fecture had to purchase clams to meet reason for its closing. In order to meet
system to secure viability of their oper- the requirements of people visiting for the needs of people for clamming, they
ations before 2002 when PST exceeding recreational clamming. introduced the system of exchanging
the regulatory limit were first detected Tannowa clamming park is not a clams in 2007 after the third incidence
in clams from seas along Osaka prefec- natural but an artificial beach. Tannowa of PSP exceeding the regulatory limit
ture. . Fisheries Cooperative originally operat- detected in Osaka prefecture.
One of the species most targeted at ed recreational clamming in natural tid- At first, the Fisheries Division of
clamming parks is Ruditapes philippi- al flats in different coastal areas. How- Osaka prefectural government request-
narum. Commercial catch of R. philippi- ever, these tidal flats were reclaimed to ed operators of clamming parks not to
narum in Osaka prefecture had its peak build a harbour for yachts which led to open the parks until a safety declara-
at 556 tons in 1953, then decreased a subsequent shift of focus to the pre- tion was issued. In the last few years
sharply in late 1950’s, 30 years before sent clamming park. Operations were however, self-closure of the parks on
its decrease throughout Japan [3]. The restarted where clams cannot grow detection of shellfish toxins surpass-
major reasons for the rapid decrease naturally due to the nature of bottom ing the regulatory limit is no longer
and lack of recovery of commercial sediments. Due to these circumstances, requested. Thorough management of
catch of R. philippinarum are consid- the Cooperative can only operate the both clams and visitors by the opera-
ered to be the extensive reclamation of clamming park by purchasing clams tors resulted in no record of poisoning
tidal flats and severe deterioration of from outside areas. Through opera- cases from the clamming parks, which
the environment of Osaka Bay. Because tion of clamming parks with purchased led to no requests for self-closure of the
of this, by the 1960s at the latest, opera- clams, fishermen of Tannowa Fisheries parks by the Osaka prefectural govern-
tors of clamming parks in Osaka pre- Cooperative developed the system of ment [4]. The once decreasing number
Fig. 3 General framework of risk management of shellfish poisoning in Japan
2 HARMFUL ALGAE NEWS NO. 67 / 2021
Fig. 4 System of exchanging clams which secure food safety at Tannowa clamming park (Modified from [3}
of visitors to clamming parks has now the exchange system at clamming parks 3. Wakita K & M Maruyama 2020. J Sch
recovered. is still limited, park operators in other Mar Sci Tech Tokai Univ 18: 11-20
This is a success story of how to prefectures might become interested if 4. Wakita K & Y Fukuyo 2020. J Coastal
Zone Studies: 33 (3): 59-
mitigate socio-economic impact on rec- PST over the regulatory limit becomes
5. Wakita K et al 2014. Mar Policy 46:
reational clamming in Osaka prefecture more widely spread and more frequent- 53-60
due to PST. Thanks to the initiatives and ly detected. For Shiohigari to succeed,
careful measures to ensure safety by the further study on social acceptance of
operators and the understanding of the the clam-exchange measures is neces-
Osaka prefectural government, oppor- sary, as is a better understanding of the
tunities for recreational clamming have challenges for securing food safety and
continued to be provided even when the continued operation of clamming
shellfish toxin exceeding the regulatory parks.
limit is detected. The complete absence
of any poisoning cases from clamming
parks is what has made this mecha- Acknowledgements
nism possible. Shiohigari has recrea- I am grateful to interviewees from
tional, cultural, and educational values Tannnowa Fisheries Cooperative and
for citizens in Japan. How can we pass Nishikinohama Tourism Association for
on the traditional culture of Shiohigari their invaluable talk about the history
to the next generation given the spread of operations at the clamming parks. In-
of shellfish toxins as well as the critical terviews were supported by a research
status of clam resources? This is one of grant from the Institute for Food and
the most urgent issues facing Japan if Health Science, Yazuya Co., Ltd. I would Author
we are to prevent a further decrease in also like to thank Yasuwo Fukuyo for his Kazumi Wakita, School of Marine Science
and Technology, Tokai University, Shizuoka,
the number of people enjoying and be- guidance on my research on socio-eco-
Japan
ing interested in the sea. nomic aspects of harmful algal blooms.
Marine recreation such as Shiohi- Special thanks are extended to John Email corresponding author:
gari has a strong influence on enhanc- Dolan for his kind proofreading. kazumiw@tokai-u.jp
ing people’s behaviours around marine
conservation [5]. Thus, the exchange
system of clams at clamming parks References
will have an effect not only on mitigat- 1. Imai I &S Itakura S 2014. In: Advanced
ing the socio-economic impact PST but researches on shellfish poisonings: Cur-
rent status and overview (Kouseisha
also on promoting people’s willingness Kouseikaku), 9-18 (In Japanese)
to conserve the marine environment by 2. Yamamoto K et al 2017. Bull Plankton
continuously providing opportunities Soc Japan 64 (1): 11–21 (In Japanese
for Shiohigari. Although introduction of with English abstract)
HARMFUL ALGAE NEWS NO. 67 / 2021 3
HABs and the Mixoplankton Paradigm
Mixotrophs are defined as organisms for those capable of phagotrophy. “Phy- As before [3], this HAB functional
that are “able to use photo-autotrophy toplankton” was then proposed to de- group classification chart starts with
and phagotrophy or osmotrophy to ob- scribe protists capable of phototrophy the question of whether the HAB spe-
tain organic nutrients” [1]. It is notable but not phagotrophy. Planktonic cyano- cies is capable of carbon fixation. A
that all phototrophic protists are po- bacteria, including HAB species, would negative response to this leads us to
tentially mixotrophic if only through by default also be phytoplankton. one end of the spectrum – the pure
expression of osmotrophy enabled by The role of mixotrophic plankton heterotroph describing the traditional
the uptake of amino acids and sugars, in HABs has long been recognised [5]. protozooplankton (or, microzooplank-
processes that were much studied back With the newly proposed mixoplankton ton) functional group. Within the cur-
in the 1970’s and 1980’s. Over the last term and its allied paradigm [4] that rent IOC-UNESCO HABs list [5] there
decade, however, there has been an in- sees the potential for bacteria-mixo- is one only species, Phalacroma rotun-
creasing awareness of the importance plankton and mixoplanktonic predator- datum which falls within this group.
of the activity of plankton combining prey interactions, the question arises as However, if the HAB species has the
phototrophy and phagotrophy [2]. And to how HAB species align with this new ability to photosynthesize, the next
that includes many HABs, which are not take on marine science? question is whether the species can
just “algae”, but also predators. In order to identify and hence dif- also engage in osmo-heterotrophy. A
That awareness of the importance of ferentiate between the mixotrophic and null response results in what would be
phagotrophy in so-called algae prompt- mixoplanktonic HABs, we have adapted a purely photo-autotrophic organism;
ed a reclassification of protist plankton the new protist functional group classi- there are no known HAB species which
functional groups [3] according to their fication [3] specifically for Harmful Algal would satisfy this description – indeed
different modes of photo+phago ‘troph- Bloom species (Fig. 1). In Fig. 1 example there is no known microbe that aligns
ic nutrition. The most basic division was species names have been obtained from with this state. A yes response gives us a
between those species with a constitu- the IOC-UNESCO HABs list [6] and as- mixotroph capable of photo-autotrophy
tive (innate) ability to photosynthesise, signed to functional groups according and osmo-heterotrophy. Once we have
and the non-constitutive species that to the mixoplankton database [7]. The a mixotroph, the next criteria to test is
acquired phototrophy from their prey. primary difference between the HAB whether the mixotroph is also capable
Subsequently, to remove the ambigu- functional group classification present- of phagotrophy. A negative leads to the
ity between mixotrophy enabled by ed here and the protist functional group traditional “phytoplankton” which in-
{photo’ + osmo’ trophy} versus {photo’ classification [3] is the inclusion prokar- clude the HAB species within the Bacil-
+ osmo’ + phago’ trophy}, the use of the yotic plankton as there are various lariophyceae (diatom) and cyanobacte-
term “mixoplankton” was proposed [4] known HAB species within this group. ria groups. A positive response results
Fig. 1. Functional group classification key for Harmful Algal Bloom Species. N, no; Y, yes. Key developed from the protist functional group key [3]
with example species from the IOC-UNESCO HABs list [6] aligned to functional groups according to the Mixoplankton Database [7]
4 HARMFUL ALGAE NEWS NO. 67 / 2021
vs the NYA A. hiranoi; the CM Karenia
brevis vs the NYA K. cristata).
Phagotrophy has a direct conse-
quence for trophic dynamics, with the
removal of competitors and potentially
also predators by the collective action
of high abundance blooms of HAB spe-
cies. Phagotrophy also provides nu-
trients which, according to traditional
inorganic nutrient analysis, may oth-
erwise be considered as limiting. The
consumption of bacteria, for example,
appears common. The traditional food
web considers bacteria as a competitor
for nutrients with phytoplankton; in-
deed, nutrient stressed phytoplankton
release increased amounts of organ-
ics that promote bacteria growth in a
positive feedback loop [10]. Protozoo-
plankton then control the dynamics of
the interaction (Fig. 3). According to
the mixoplankton paradigm [3-4], the
Fig. 2. Indication of proportion of IOC-UNESCO HAB species [6] assigned to each of the HAB
plankton functional groups according to key in Fig.1 compiled by cross-reference to a data-
protists are not in competition with
base on mixoplankton species. CM, constitutive mixoplankton; pSNCM, plastidic specialist the bacteria, but de facto farm them to
non-constitutive mixoplankton; MP, mixotrophic phytoplankton including eukaryotic diatoms acquire nutrients (Fig. 3). The conse-
and prokaryotic cyanobacteria; pZ, protozooplankton; NYA, not yet assigned. See text and Fig. quential dynamics of the growth of the
1 for further explanations. phototrophic protist (‘phytoplankton’
in the traditional scenario; ‘mixoplank-
in a photo-osmo-phago-mixotroph – the the pSNCM group while the HAB Pfies- ton’ under the mixoplankton paradigm)
mixoplankton - functional group; these teria piscida with their reduced endos- differs greatly (Fig. 3),
are primarily planktonic protists. ymbiont fall within the r-eSNCM group. Labelling HAB species as mixo-
The mixoplankton HABs are then Dinophysis acquires its plastids from plankton, or otherwise, has obvious im-
broadly classified into constitutive and the SNCM ciliate, Mesodinium, which in portant consequences for how we con-
non-constitutive mixoplankton. Here, turn acquires its plastids from CM cryp- sider factors affecting the growth and
the constitutive mixoplankton (CM) are tophytes such as Teleaulax. Thus, SNCM demise of these organisms. It also then
HAB species which have innate pho- species always depend on the availabil- affects how those responsible for moni-
tosynthetic capabilities; these include ity of other species for acquired photo- toring water quality and ecosystem ser-
various species from the Dinophyceae trophy while CMs have no such restric- vices may view the ecosystem. In short,
(e.g., Alexandrium minutum, Karenia tion on their growth. Furthermore, the assuming the activity of HAB species
brevis, Karlodinium veneficum), Raphi- conditions of growth effects the longev- aligns with ‘phytoplankton’ needing
dophyceae (e.g., Chattonella marina, ity of acquired plastids in NCMs and light and inorganic nutrients, can be
Heterosigma akashiwo) and Haptophy- thus the components of the food chain considered for many if not most species
ta (e.g., Chrysochromulina leadbeateri, are closely coupled. as inappropriate. That Chrysochromuli-
Prymnesium parvum) groups. Fig. 2 presents preliminary results na is a mixoplankton, and grows to such
The non-constitutive mixoplankton from assigning this functional group perfusion around salmon farms [11] is
(NCM) are those that need to acquire classification to the 190 HAB species perhaps no coincidence.
their obligate phototrophic capabili- currently recorded in the IOC-UNESCO For more about mixoplankton,
ties from either generic species (gen- list. The “not yet assigned” (NYA) group please see the article about the recent
eralist non-constitutive mixoplankton, represents HABs within the Dinophy- Mixoplankton International Conference
GNCM) or specific species (specialist ceae group which are known to be in this edition of HAN, and also visit
non-constitutive mixoplankton, SNCM). mixotrophic by virtue of being photo- www.mixotroph.org
There are no known HAB GNCMs; GNC- osmo-heterotrophic but we have not
Ms comprise various ciliates, such as found any published records evidenc- Acknowledgements
Strombidium and Laboea species [8]. ing their capability (or, otherwise) to This work was funded by the project
The SNCMs are further divided into engage in phagotrophy. The primary MixITiN. This project has received fund-
those that retain plastids and parts of reason behind allocating “NYA” to these ing from the European Union’s Horizon
the prey (plastidic SNCM, pSNCM) and groups rather than “mixotrophs” is the 2020 research and innovation pro-
those that maintain endosymbionts presence of various well-known mixo- gramme under the Marie Skłodowska-
(endosymbiotic mixoplankton). The planktonic species within the same ge- Curie grant agreement No 766327.
well-known HAB Dinophysis fall within nus (e.g., the CM Alexandrium catenella
HARMFUL ALGAE NEWS NO. 67 / 2021 5
Fig. 3. Schematics and model simulation outputs run under the traditional paradigm (left) versus the mixoplankton paradigm (right). See text for
explanation. B – bacteria; Phyto – phytoplankton (non-phagotrophic phototroph); µZ – protozooplankton; CM – constitutive mixoplankton (photo-
phago-trophic); DIM – dissolved inorganic matter (nutrients); DOM – dissolved organic matter. Adapted from [3]
References
1. Brooker R et al 2020. Biology. 5th Edition,
McGraw-Hill Education New York
2. Mitra A 2018. Scientific American
318:26-33
3. Mitra A et al 2016. Protist 167: 106-120
4. Flynn KJ et al 2019. J Plankton Res 41:
375-391
5. Burkholder JM et al 2008. Harmful Algae
8: 77-93
6. Moestrup Ø et al (Eds) 2009 onwards.
IOC-UNESCO Taxonomic Reference List of
Harmful Micro Algae. Accessed at http://
www.marinespecies.org/hab on 2021-
02-08. doi:10.14284/362
7. Mitra A et al 2021. The Mixoplankton
Database. In preparation
8. Stoecker DK et al 1987. Nature 326:
790-792 Authors
9. Hansen PJ et al 2019. In T Schmidt (ed) Aditee Mitra, School of Earth and Environmental Sciences,
Encyclopedia of Microbiology 4th edn Cardiff University, Cardiff, Wales, UK
(Academic Press) pp 199-210
10. Bratbak G & TF Thingstad 1985. Mar Kevin J Flynn, Plymouth Marine Laboratory, Plymouth,
Ecol Prog Ser 25:23-30 England, UK
11. Søgaard DH et al 2021. Scientific Re-
ports 11: 1-8 Email corresponding author: MitraA2@Cardiff.ac.uk
6 HARMFUL ALGAE NEWS NO. 67 / 2021
Tiny cells with a big impact: Because of its small size, this diatom
is often misidentified or goes unnoticed
An unexpected bloom in the mid-Atlantic by light microscopy; it is however eas-
ily detected when intense blooms form
massive gelatinous colonies, such as
during the widespread event of the Eco-
Mon 2018 cruise. The species is consid-
ered cosmopolitan within temperate
and tropical waters [3,5] its presence in
the mid-Atlantic region is not unusual
[5]. It is observed in waters closer to the
coast, such as in Narragansett Bay (41˚
34’ N, 71˚ 23’ W), so far at non-bloom
densities [6] (Figure 6).
Given that the EcoMon crew did not
Fig. 1. a) Bongo nets fouled with the brown mucilaginous plankton. b) Dark and gelatinous visually notice any discoloration of the
content of the plankton nets scraped into a sample tray. surface water at the time, one can sur-
mise either that a bloom occurred at
Since 1992, the US NOAA Ecosystem marginal strutted processes; and 25 to depth or that the colonies were abun-
Monitoring (EcoMon) cruises survey 30 areolae in 10 µm (Fig. 3). Copious dant and somewhat dispersed through
the Northeast U.S. Continental Shelf chitan threads emanate from the ring of the water column. Vertical profiles of
between 36˚ N and 41˚ N three to four marginal strutted processes and are re- temperatures and salinities indicated
times a year. Plankton and larval fish sponsible for creating the mucilaginous generally well-mixed water columns,
are sampled along with physical and consistency of the colonies; the threads thus may suggest colony dispersal at
chemical oceanographic parameters. were markedly obvious on micrographs most stations rather than thin layers
During November 2018, the cruise en- (Fig. 4). Additional morphological fea- of concentrated materials at depths.
countered an unusual massive bloom of tures of this taxon have been previously For example, at station 56, chlorophyll
mucilaginous plankton that completely described [2-3]. Subsequent review of concentrations were nearly constant at
clogged 165-µm and 335-µm zooplank- data at 3 m from the Imaging FlowCy- 2.4, 2.4 and 2.1 µg L-1 at 2, 20 and 30
ton nets with a puzzling dark brown tobot (IFCB) onboard the EcoMon ves- m, respectively (in situ fluorometry)
slimy substance (Fig. 1). The plankton sel indeed revealed the presence of nu- over a very slight sigma-t difference
nets were extensively fouled at 16 of the merous colonies as well as single cells of 0.001 unit. However, at station 60
60 stations, predominantly north of 40˚ of what we can now identify as T. mala where the heaviest fouling occurred,
N (Fig. 2). The fouled double-oblique (Fig. 5) [4] the chlorophyll concentrations were
Bongo plankton tows ranged in depth
from the surface to ~ 5 m from the bot-
tom, i.e. between 26 and 57 m, depend-
ing on the station (CTD depths). With no
microscope on board to observe fresh
material, some of the brown slime was
scraped from the nets into 95% ethanol,
which changed it to a dark green color.
Upon return to onshore laborato-
ries, identification of the material by
light microscopy remained somewhat
elusive, although the super abundant
~7.5-µm cells hinted at the presence of
either a diatom or the prymnesiophyte
Phaeocystis. Aliquots of the preserved
material from station 60 were digested
in H2O2 and prepared for scanning elec-
tron microscopy (SEM).
We identified the tiny cells en-
meshed in chitan threads as Thalassio-
sira mala [1]: a single strutted process
(fultoportula) offset from the center Fig 2. Composite maps of chlorophyll a concentration over a range of 0.03 to 30 µg L-1 from
of the valve; a ring of marginal strut- the MODIS-Aqua, Suomi-NPP-VIIRS and NOAA20-VIIRS satellite sensors: Nov 3-5 (left panel)
and Nov 10-12 (right panel) 2018 during the time of the EcoMon cruise. Sampling on the R/V
ted processes 1 to 1.5 µm apart from Sharp took place November 2-12, 2018. Dots on top of the cruise track indicate sampling sta-
each other; a single labiate process (ri- tions; red dots specify stations with extensive fouling of the nets. The cruise ended at station
moportula) located within the ring of 60. The thin topographic grey line represents the 100-m depth contour.
HARMFUL ALGAE NEWS NO. 67 / 2021 7
Fig. 3. Scanning electron micrographs of frustules in valve view of Thalassiosira mala. Note the single eccentric strutted process (black arrow),
the ring of marginal strutted processes (arrowheads) and the single labiate process (white arrow) located within the ring of marginal strutted
processes seen on the outside (a) and inside (b) of the frustule. 3a EcoMon Station 60, November 12, 2018; 3b Narragansett Bay December 10,
2018.
5.2, 4.9, and 9.3 µg L-1 at 2, 20 and 30 more widespread, and of longer dura- the widespread regional T. mala bloom,
m (over a 0.0175 sigma-t unit), respec- tion than the EcoMon data can docu- which by the time of the EcoMon cruise
tively, possibly suggesting a deep some- ment. Independently, and a few weeks had settled to depth or been dispersed.
what denser bloom. These November earlier, an observer on a pelagic moni- Returning to Narragansett Bay, ob-
observations may thus document a set- toring vessel noted the daily presence servations on local plankton help to
tling or settled later stage of a bloom. of conspicuous ‘brown clouds’ on the document the extent of the presence of
We compared ship-based observations surface of the sea off the coast of Del- T. mala in Northeast U.S. coastal waters.
to remote sensing data for this time aware (~39˚ N), sometimes in large The taxon was occasionally reported
(Fig. 2). Satellite imagery shows coastal patches (Fig. 7, September 29, 2018) (S. from various locations from September
chlorophyll-a concentrations of up to 3 McConnell, pers. comm.). Unfortunate- to December 2018, but always at low
mg m-3 in the area of the survey where ly, no samples were taken, thus we must densities: water samples and plankton
the heaviest fouling of nets and instru- stress that although it seems likely, we tows (our own samples and Dr. D. Bork-
ments occurred. can only speculate that this may have man, RI Department of Environmental
This T. mala bloom may have been been an earlier surface expression of Management, pers. comm.), and the lo-
cal IFCB ([7]). The morphology of living
cells and colonies from Narragansett
Bay was documented with light micros-
copy (Figure 6) and identification was
confirmed with SEM (Fig. 3b).
Intense blooms of T. mala mucilagi-
nous colonies can impair the growth of
filter-feeding shellfish, primarily docu-
mented in bivalves and suspected of
affecting efficient gill function [8]. The
deleterious mode of action on shellfish
is thus likely physical in nature rather
than chemical, this tiny harmful alga
is not believed to produce a toxin. We
know of no reports of harmful conse-
quences outside of coastal events; spe-
cific intense offshore blooms are not
likely to be investigated, unless by acci-
dent, such as during the EcoMon cruise.
No adverse effects on cultured or wild
shellfish were reported for Narragan-
sett Bay.
Fig. 4. Thalassiosira mala frustules enmeshed in chitan threads. EcoMon Station 60, November
12, 2018.
8 HARMFUL ALGAE NEWS NO. 67 / 2021
Acknowledgements
We are grateful to Kyle Turner for
helpful discussions regarding the
fall 2018 EcoMon cruise and to Dr.
Irene Andreu for SEM assistance.
Dr. Paul E. Hargraves provided
some insights on diatom taxonomy.
We acknowledge the dedication of
the crew of the R/V Sharp during
a particularly stormy cruise. We
thank Tamara Holzwarth-Davis
for processing CTD data, Dr. Heidi
Sosik (Woods Hole Oceanographic
Institution) for the use of the IFCB,
Dr. David Borkman for discussion
on the presence of T. mala in Narra-
gansett Bay, and Scott McConnell,
AIS Observers, Inc. for letting us
use his photograph.
Fig. 5. Live Thalassiosira mala as viewed with the continuous Imaging Flow Cy-
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dashboard.gso.uri.edu:8000/
timeline?dataset=GSO_
Dock&bin=D20181204T105209_ Fig. 6. Live Thalassiosira mala a) in dense mucilaginous colonies (phase contrast), and b) as
IFCB120 loosely associated cells where two chloroplasts per cell are clearly seen (bright field). Photo-
8. Takano H 1983. Bull Tokai Reg Fish graphs from Narragansett Bay; identification confirmed by SEM (Fig. 3b). Note that as a dia-
Res Lab 109: 27-36 tom, T. mala appears round in valve view and rectangular in girdle view, which is clearly seen
here, indicating that these images could not depict Phaeocystis, whose cells appear irregularly
spherical, with no rectangular profiles.
Authors
Lucie Maranda, Jan Rines & Jessica Car-
ney, Graduate School of Oceanography,
University of Rhode Island, Narragan-
sett, RI, 02882-1197, USA
Jerome Prezioso & Kimberly Hyde,
NOAA Northeast Fisheries Science
Center, Narragansett, RI, 02882, USA
Email corresponding author:
lmaranda@uri.edu
Fig. 7. Surface patches of a dense phytoplankton bloom several miles off the coast of Delaware
on September 29, 2018. Photo credit S. McConnell.
HARMFUL ALGAE NEWS NO. 67 / 2021 9
First report of an Ansanella granifera Individual cells were isolated with
microcapillary pipettes, and placed into
bloom in Cuban waters, Caribbean 25 µL of Chelex solution (InstaGeneTM
region Matrix; Bio-Rad, Hercules, California,
USA). Single cell DNA extractions were
performed following protocols adapt-
ed from Richlen & Barber (2005) [2],
as outlined in Gómez et al (2017) [3].
The D1-D3 domains of the LSU rRNA
gene were amplified using primers
D1R and D2C [4], and PCR products
were visualized, cloned, and sequenced
as described in Gómez et al (2017)
[3]. DNA sequences were analyzed us-
ing Basic Local Search Tool (BLAST,
http://blast.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/Blast.
cgi) against databases in GenBank. The
most closely related sequences (99.08-
99.85% identity), as determined using
BLAST searches, were those of Ansanel-
la granifera (GenBank Accession no.
HG792066.1). The newly generated
Fig. 1. Map of the study area showing the location where the dinoflagel- consensus sequences were deposited in
late bloom o
ccurred in southeastern Cuba. DDBJ/EMBL/GenBank under accession
numbers MW698929-MW698931.
Harmful Algal Blooms (HABs) have a Sedgwick–Rafter counting chamber. Ansanella granifera occurred in a
been associated with fish and shellfish Micrographs were taken with a digi- nearly monospecific bloom at a maxi-
kills, ecosystem damage, human health tal camera (Canon ELH 135) and cell mum concentration of 2.16 × 108 cells
impacts, and significant economic length and width measurements col- L-1. Other dinoflagellates (Alexandrium
losses to the aquaculture and tourist lected from 20 individuals. For Scan- sp., Blixaea quinquecornis, Scrippsiella
industries throughout the world. The ning Electron Microscopy (SEM) exami- trochoidea) and diatoms such as Cylin-
increase of HABs in recent years is gen- nation of the bloom sample, cells were drotheca closterium, Hemiaulus hauckii,
erally related to direct and indirect an- filtered on a 3 µm polycarbonate filter, Nitzschia longissima, Skeletonema sp.
thropogenic activities (e.g. eutrophica- desalted with a 10% step gradient of were found at very low cell densities.
tion, climate change)[1]. seawater to freshwater and dehydrated Ansanella granifera cells were pen-
In August 2018, an intense red water using a 10% step gradient of freshwater tagonal to oval in shape; the episome
discoloration was observed in the Fish- to ethanol followed by 100% hexam- was conical with a round apex, and larg-
ing Port of Manzanillo city, southeastern ethyldisilazane (HMDS). The resulting er than the trapezoidal hyposome. The
Cuba (20°19.891’N and 077°09.350’W) dehydrated sample was placed on an nucleus was oval and located in the an-
(Fig. 1). The discoloration was caused aluminum stub using double stick tape terior to central part of the cell. A bright
by a small dinoflagellate later identi- and sputter coated with gold-platinum red eyespot was located near the sul-
fied by genetic sequencing as Ansanella using a Denton Vacuum Desk II Sputter cus. Cell length 9.70–13.60 μm (average
granifera. The bloom, located near the Unit prior to examination with a JEOL 10.75 ± 1.11, n=20); cell width 8.0–12.5
coast, occupied an area of about 1.85 5600LV SEM. μm (average 9.11±1.22, n=20) (Figs. 3,
km2 inside the Port and its adjacent
waters, and was large enough to be de-
tected by satellite imagery (Fig. 2).
Surface water samples (0.30 m
depth) were collected with a Van Dorn
bottle for phytoplankton and nutrient
analysis (N-NO3-, N-NH4+, P-PO43-). Wa-
ter temperature, salinity and dissolved
oxygen were measured in-situ with
a multi-parameter sonde (HI 9828,
Hanna Instruments, Inc., USA) at eight
sampling stations (Fig. 2). Phytoplank-
ton samples were preserved with acidic
Lugol’s solution and analyzed with a
Zeiss Axiovert 40 inverted microscope Fig. 2. A. Satellite image of the dinoflagellate bloom along the coastline of the Fishing Port,
(Zeiss, Oberkochen, Germany) using Manzanillo city, Cuba. B. Red water discoloration due to the bloom.
10 HARMFUL ALGAE NEWS NO. 67 / 2021is needed to determine the composition Acknowledgements
and distribution of dinoflagellate cysts This work was supported by CiguaPire
from sediments of this coastal area to (NSF OISE Award # 1743802), which
determine the historical occurrence of facilitated collaboration among re-
bloom-forming species. searchers from USA and Cuba, leading
Many dinoflagellates are better to studies and training on HABs. Ad-
adapted to use ammonium and other ditional support was provided by the
organic nitrogen forms like urea, in Greater Caribbean Center for Ciguatera
comparison with diatoms which are ni- Research (NIH 1P01ES028949- 01 and
trate specialists [7, 8]. Ansanella grani- NSF 1841811). We thank Evie Fachon
fera, similar to other red tide dinoflag- for her valuable technical and labora-
ellates, is also a mixotrophic species tory assistance.
Fig. 3. Light microscopy images of fixed cells that is capable of photosynthesis and
of Ansanella granifera. acquiring nutrients in pre-packaged
or particulate form (including hetero- References
4). Ansanella granifera is a dinoflagel- trophic bacteria and other small pho- 1. GEOHAB 2006. Global Ecology and
late belonging to the family Suessiaceae tosynthetic microalgae) together [9]. Oceanography of Harmful Algal Blooms,
Harmful Algal Blooms in Eutrophic Sys-
(order Suessiales) that was recently de- Mixotrophy is a competitive advantage tems. P. Glibert (ed.). IOC and SCOR, Paris
scribed from Korea [5]. To our knowl- for many dinoflagellate species that al- and Baltimore, 74 pp
edge, the occurrence in waters from lows them to dominate in the ocean. 2. Richlen ML & Barber PH 2005. Mol. Ecol.
southeastern Cuba represents the first Mixotrophic species are responsible for Notes 5: 688-691
3. Gómez F et al 2017. Harmful Algae
record outside its type-locality, includ- ~ 40% of the species forming red tides
63:32-44
ing the first report of the taxon for the globally [10, 11]. Ansanella granifera is 4. Scholin CA et al 1994. J Phycol 30:999–
Caribbean region, for the entire West- one of the fastest growing mixotrophic 1011
ern Atlantic, as well as the first record dinoflagellates reported to date. Mixo- 5. Jeong HJ et al 2014. Algae 29: 75-99
as bloom forming species worldwide. trophic dinoflagellates can increase 6. Dawut et al 2018. Phycol Res 66: 300-
309
The application of molecular meth- their populations by migrating between
7. Burkholder JM et al 2008. Harmful Algae
ods is particularly valuable for small well-lit surface and eutrophic bottom
8:77–93
dinoflagellates (e.g. “gymnodinioid waters [6, 12].
8. Glibert PM et al 2016. Limnol Oceanogr
forms”) of ambiguous taxonomy like Eutrophication processes associat- 61:165–197
Ansanella granifera (very similar to ed with nitrogen loading in the coastal 9. Lee SK et al 2014. Algae: 29: 137-152
Gymnodinium species). They are na- zone have resulted in algal blooms, 10. Flynn KJ et al 2013. J Plnkton Res 41:
noplankton sized forms that cannot be fish kills, altered trophic interactions, 375-391
11. Jeong HJ et al 2021. Sci Adv: eabe4214
properly identified in optical micros- and oxygen depletion, and have caused 12. Park JG et al 2001. Phycologia 40: 292-
copy examinations. Recently, a Gymno- other environmental problems in dif- 297
dinium species (G. natalense) has been ferent coastal regions around the world 13. Glibert PM & Burford MA 2017. Oceano
transferred to the genus Ansanella (A. [1, 13]. Dinoflagellate blooms including graphy 30:58–69
natalensis) by combining morphologi- toxic species have also been reported 14. Moreira-González AR et al 2014. RGCI
14:597-609
cal and genetic studies [6]. near areas of sewage in semi-enclosed 15. Moreira-González AR et al 2020. Sci
When the event occurred, weather bays from Cuba [14, 15]. Total Environ 757:143782
conditions were favorable for bloom
formation in southeastern Cuba, with Authors
high water temperature (30.66 oC) and Angel R Moreira-González & Carlos M Alonso-
salinity (37.44 psu); and ammonium Hernández, Centro de Estudios Ambientales
de Cienfuegos (CEAC), Ciudad Nuclear, CP
concentration (NH4 +) was also mod-
59350, Cienfuegos, Cuba
erately high (0.20 mg/L). This level of
ammonium could be due to organic nu- Gustavo Arencibia-Carballo & Abel Betan-
trient input linked to discharges in the zos-Vega, Centro de Investigaciones Pesque-
coastal zone from the wastewater treat- ras (CIP), Municipio Playa, CP 19100, La
Habana, Cuba
ment plant of the nearby local fishery
industry. In spite of its location in the Steve L Morton NOAA, National Centers for
open sea, symptoms of eutrophication Coastal Ocean Science, HAB Monitoring &
such as high values of chemical oxygen Reference Branch, Charleston, SC, USA.
demand (COD) (average of 5.31 mg/L)
Mindy L Richlen, Woods Hole Oceanographic
and concentrations of oxygen below 5
Institution, Biology Department, Woods
mg/L (average of 4.76 mg/L) were re- Hole, MA, USA
corded along the coastline of the study
area (Fishing Port and adjacent wa- E-mail corresponding author:
Fig. 4. Scanning electron micrographs of
ters), an area that is characterized by angel@gestion.ceac.cu
Ansanella granifera cells from field samples.
organic rich sediments. Further work Scale bar = 5 µm.
HARMFUL ALGAE NEWS NO. 67 / 2021 11Dolichospermum spiroides blooms in a pond in Serian, Sarawak, and co-existed
with a Microcystis bloom. However, the
man-made lake in Sarawak, Borneo species and cell density for both genera
were not recorded [3].
This is the first documented report
of D. spiroides in Sarawak waters. The
occurrence of Dolichospermum blooms
encouraged the implementation of
monitoring the freshwater system to
avoid any intoxications by cyanotox-
ins. Fortunately, there were no human
health problems as the lake water is
not used for drinking, however there
are some recreational activities, such as
fishing and kayaking which may be af-
fected in the future.
Acknowledgements
This project was partially funded by
an internal grant from Universiti Ma-
laysia Sarawak through Small Grant
Scheme (F07/SGS/1522/2016), a Shell
Chair Grant (I01/SHC/1627/2017)
and a National Racer Grant (F07/RAC-
ER/1858/2019).
References
1. Li X et al 2016. Harmful Algae 54: 54-68
2. Oliver RL & Ganf GG 2000. In: The ecolo-
gy of cyanobacteria. Springer, Dordrecht,
pp 149-194
3. Harith MN & Hassan R 2007. Proceed-
Fig. 1. (a) Map of Malaysia Borneo showing the bloom location at the man-made lake in Kota ings of NREM & ESH, pp. 249-258
Samarahan, Sarawak. (b, c) Green water discoloration detected at the study site. (d) Concen- 4. Lim HC 2008. Faculty of Resource Sci-
trated plankton net haul samples. ence an Technology. Universiti Malaysia
Sarawak
5. Hua LM & Yaacob KKK 2019. BJRST 9:
Dolichospermum (formerly Anabaena) To date there are a very limited num- 72-81
is a cyanobacterial genus that includes ber of studies of cyanobacteria [3,4,5]
toxic bloom forming species [1]. Species in Sarawak. In Malaysia, a bloom of
of Dolichospermum are free-living cy- Dolichospermum (reported as Anabae- Authors
anobacteria found in lentic water bod- na) was recorded in a freshwater fish Sing Tung Teng, Sujah Ravichandran,
Nursyahida Abdullah & Afiqah Hamilton
ies such as freshwater lakes, ponds, res- Hanafih, Faculty of Resource Science and
ervoirs as well as brackish waters [2]. Technology, Universiti Malaysia Sarawak,
In this study, we report a water dis- 94300 Kota Samarahan, Sarawak, Malaysia
coloration caused by a massive bloom
of a filamentous heterocyst-forming Hong Chang Lim, Regal City College, 93150
Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia and Institute of
cyanobacteria, between February and Biodiversity and Environmental Conserva-
March 2020. The discoloration, with an tion, Universiti Malaysia Sarawak, 94300
extension of approximately 2.22 acres, Kota Samarahan, Sarawak, Malaysia
was formed in a lake at the center of a
Ing Kuo Law, Bachok Marine Research Sta-
residential area and connected to the
tion, Institute of Ocean and Earth Sciences,
Sarawak River in Borneo (Fig. 1). The University of Malaya, 13610 Bachok, Kelan-
cyanobacteria was identified as Doli- tan, Malaysia
chopermum spiroides using light mi-
croscopy (Fig. 2) and reached densities Email corresponding author:
tsteng@unimas.my
of 1.21 to 1.25×106 cells L-1. Cells were
tst861208@hotmail.com
filamentous and often curly. Trichomes
were surrounded by a mucilaginous en- Fig. 2. SEM (a, b) and LM (c, d). A: Akinete, H:
velope. Heterocyst of Dolichospermum spiroides
12 HARMFUL ALGAE NEWS NO. 67 / 2021An online platform (GEE App) for Trophic State Index
monitoring of inland waters in Latin America
the expansion of urban slums with no
sewage or solid waste collection sys-
tem. As a result, high chl-a and TSI lev-
els were often observed throughout the
past year (Fig. 2).
The use of cloud computing (GEE)
to process all Sentinel-2 imagery and
generate the NDCI collection, allows
for quick access to the chl-a and TSI
(Trophic State Index) levels for any
water body within the study area (Par-
aná River Basin, Fig. 1), which includes
several reservoirs and dams, such as
Itaipú, Três Marias, Cantareira System
and others.
More importantly, all of this infor-
mation will be freely accessible for the
general public via an Earth Engine APP
(Fig. 2) that allows personalized evalu-
ation of a given water mass that can ei-
Fig. 1. a) The dark gray region shows the Paraná River Basin in Brazil; b) Water masses within ther be chosen from a list or drawn by
Paraná River Basin palette according to the Chl-a concentration average for 2020. The red the user on the map canvas. The APP is
rectangle indicates the Billings Reservoir taken as an example for the GEE App (see Fig. 2).
currently in development and soon will
be released in the GEE APP gallery. The
Human activities on a global scale have a given area. The NDCI retrieved from user will be able to define date range,
significantly contributed to the change the imagery are compared with chl-a ROI (Region of Interest), time-series
in quality of water bodies caused by measured in situ with a time window charts (either NDCI or Chl-a) and TSI
increasing nutrients levels. In these of + 2 days for match-ups. NDCI is used area charts (% class area), and save
circumstances, algae have proliferated to estimate chl-a concentration by ap- these plots as texts or image formats.
rapidly and their concentrations are plying a non-linear fitting model, and For the project’s following activities,
above normal values. The lack of in situ is also used to classify every pixel into we plan to improve the APP and release
data in Latin American countries limits 5 classes of Trophic State Index (Oligo, it on-line within the following weeks.
the capacity of water quality manage- Meso, Eutrophic, Super and Hypere- We will also extend the NDCI collec-
ment due to the paucity of information utrophic) [4] based on a tree-decision tion to other important South America
about the current status of surface wa- model. Once the approach is devel- regions, such as Uruguay, Argentina,
ters. In this scenario, remote sensing oped and validated using pilot sites, the and North-eastern Brazil. However, this
and cloud computing techniques are method will be transferred to stake- extention depends on the availability
fundamental tools to deliver precise and holders at several levels to provide AB Continued at page 17
quick indicators of algal bloom (AB) oc- information for the main water bodies/
currence and Trophic Levels over large reservoirs in Latin America.
areas, supporting decision-makers and In this article, we report the first
management actions. results for the Tiete River Basin, one
Last year, in collaboration with sev- of the Paraná River Basin’s main tribu-
eral researchers, a project to develop a taries, located in the State of São Paulo,
tool that maps ABs over the main water Brazil (Fig. 1). Water in large urban
bodies and reservoirs in Latin America areas in São Paulo is supplied by a va-
was approved by Google Earth Engine riety of reservoirs. The rapid urbaniza-
(GEE) [1] and Earth Observation Data tion and industrialization process led
Science (EO) [2]. So far, the proposed to high nitrogen and phosphorus con-
methodology uses Sentinel-2 images centrations in surface waters and con-
corrected for atmospheric and sun-glint sequently degradation of water quality Fig. 2. Screen grab of the current version
effects to generate an image collection and eutrophication. For example, the of the experimental GEE App. a) Display of
maps and classifications; b) User interface,
of the Normalized Difference Chloro- Billings reservoir, which is located in where the user can pick date range, ROI and
phyll-a Index (NDCI) [3] for the entire the upstream Tietê basin, has faced se- select the products (NDCI, Chl-a and/or TSI)
time-series (August 2015 to present) of rious water pollution problems due to to be displayed as charts (c and d).
HARMFUL ALGAE NEWS NO. 67 / 2021 13Remote sensing of recurrent cyano vares and Camaquãfor the Arambaré
bloom events, both for the same time
HABs in Patos Lagoon, Brazil period. In addition, a 30-year meteoro-
logical time series of data assembled
from the literature was retrieved with
a closer grid point for the two locations
[5]. The available information included
rainfall (1980–2015), air temperature
(1980–2013) as well as wind speed and
direction for the summer 2019–2020.
This approach helped us to classify the
years 2019 and 2020 within a changing
climate scenario. Lastly, water tempera-
ture values for 2019-2020 were ob-
tained using MODIS (Moderate Resolu-
tion Imaging Spectroradiometer)-Terra
imagery. Preliminary findings showed
strong winds (>6 ms-1) were recorded
Fig. 1. Map of Patos Lagoon (southernmost part of Brazil) taken from [7]. before the observed blooms, followed
Black circles indicate the four sites chosen forNDCI values retrieval [4].
by relatively weak winds (ation promoting the prevalence and du- Table 1. 30-year average mean and standard deviation (1980–2015; retrieved from [5]) and
ration of cyanoHABs. monthly rainfall. The monthly values were retrieved from the Camaquã’s and Mostardas’
meteorological stations for 2019 and up to June 2020. Note the monthly values highlighted in
More detailed information will be italics and bold denoting that almost all months since November 2019 were drier than their
published soon adding modeling tools respective historical average.
to locate dominant cyanoHAB accu-
30-year average rainfall Camaquã’s station Mostardas’ station
mulation sites within the PL, and their
Standard
potential exportation to the ocean. Fu- Month Mean deviation 2019 2020 2019 2020
ture studies are needed to discriminate January 76.5 52.2 139.2 155.6 83.6 85.4
between local effects from agricultural February 88.1 49.0 70.8 35.4 50.4 19.8
inputs near the PL’s margins over the March 90.9 59.0 81.2 44.8 - 27.4
recurring appearance of cyanobacte- April 98.9 62.3 78.6 48.2 - 28.6
rial blooms, transport and advection May 115.5 69.1 278.4 117.6 - 0.00
processes within the PL and the modu-
June 123.1 65.4 41.2 165.2 47.6 25.2
lation associated with climate change
July 137.8 80.4 179.8 137
effects.
August 114.5 70.1 155 131
Acknowledgements September 133.8 65.1 108.8 103.8
October 120.5 79.0 127.8 238.2
We are grateful to the Programa de Pós-
November 80.6 56.4 44.6 59.2
graduação em Oceanologia for the MSc.
December 85.8 64.5 76.6 19.2
fellowship to B. Canever. M. de Souza
is granted a PNPD-CAPES fellowship
at the Programa de Pós-graduação em
Oceanografia Biológica (FURG). This
short communication is endorsed by
the GlobalHAB/IOC-SCOR and the Pes-
quisador Gaúcho Research Grant from
FAPERGS-RS-Brazil. Last but not least,
we thank the teacher William Marques
(in memoriam) for his comments and
suggestions.
References
1. de Souza MS et al 2018. Front Microbiol
9: 1727. doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2018.01727
2. Yunes JS 2019. In: Cyanobacteria. I Ed
(Nova York, Elsevier), pp 443–458
3. Chorus I & M Welker (eds) 2021. Toxic
Cyanobacteria in Water (CRC Press, Boca
Raton, on behalf of WHO, Geneva, CH)
859 pp
4. Mishra S & D Mishra 2012. Remote Sens
Environ 117: 394–406
5. Xavier AC et al 2016. Int J Climatol 36:
2644–2659 Fig. 4. Frequency of occurrence of wind direction and intensity by wind roses for the three previ-
6. Paerl HW & VJ Paul 2012. Water Res 46: ous days (a,c) and highest NDCI value days (b,d) collected from the Mostardas and Camaquã
1349–1363 meteorological stations, respectively. Note the different scales adopted for each corresponding
7. Schlitzer R 2020. Ocean Data View, meteorological data, with higher values obtained at Mostardas (>6 ms-1) whereas Camaquã gave
https://odv.awi.de values lower than 6 ms-1.
Authors
Beatriz Canever, Márcio de Souza & João
Yunes, Laboratório de Cianobactérias e Fico-
toxinas, Instituto de Oceanografia, Universi-
dade Federal do Rio Grande, 96203-900 Rio
Grande, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil
Felipe Lobo & Eliana Klering, Universidade
Federal de Pelotas, 96010-610 Pelotas, Rio
Grande do Sul, Brazil
Email corresponding author:
beatriz.canever@gmail.com
Fig. 5. Water temperature (black line) and NDCI values (green line) for one of four sites, Tavares
I (see also Fig. 1), spanning July 2019 to June 2020.
HARMFUL ALGAE NEWS NO. 67 / 2021 15Blooms of Akashiwo sanguinea nutrient and hydrological conditions).
The highest biovolumes observed in the
(Dinophyceae) in a tropical estuary recent study were during the first dry
in northeastern Brazil season, specifically at the warm, strati-
fied upstream conditions occurred dur-
ing October/November (Figure 1C).
We report an inter-annual bloom of 41. Linear dimensions, such as length, Bloom events occur in response to
the unarmored dinoflagellate Akashiwo width, and height were measured under specific environmental conditions, such
sanguinea in a pristine estuary (Figure 400x magnification prior to calculating as high nutrient concentrations and low
1F) in Brazil. The estuarine section of biovolume by geometric shape. turbulence [1]. These constraints partly
the Serinhaém River, Camamu Bay is Based on discontinuities in spatial explain the high accumulation of A. san-
a species-rich ecosystem located in variability, the estuary was divided into guinea during the first dry season, when
the state of Bahia (Northeastern Bra- three sections (Figure 1E) according to stratification from reduced turbulence
zil, Figure 1G), comprising preserved Ward agglomerative clustering of log created vertical gradients of nutrients
mangrove vegetation and remaining transformed biovolume: (I) the four and light [2]. Under these conditions, A.
fragments of Atlantic Forest. It is an downstream sites (SE1–SE4) with high sanguinea is able to vertically migrate
important regional center of economic values of salinity, mainly in the dry sea- in spiral movements and overcome the
activities based on coastal tourism and sons, high pH, and where A. sanguinea vertical displacement of nutrients, op-
fishing. We sampled ten areas along a did not occur; (II) the three intermedi- timizing its resource exploitation and
30 km transect starting downstream in ate sites (SE5–SE7) where salinity var- generating advantages over non-motile
March 2013 and April 2014 during the ied from ~17 to ~28 and A. sanguinea taxa. The local source of nutrients or
rainy period (260 mm), and October biovolume varied from intermediate disturbance also explains high accumu-
2013 and November 2014, during the values in 2013 to high values in the lations upstream, since SE10 is the site
dry period (235 mm). Water and surface rainy season of 2014, along with local nearest to the town of Ituberá (68 me-
sediment samples were collected along extinction during the dry season in this ters), where the river receives an aver-
a salinity gradient, stored in plastic bot- same year; and (III) the three upstream age effluent discharge of 18.08 m³ s-1. It
tles and preserved in Lugol’s solution sites (SE8–SE10), which formed a group has been demonstrated that potentially
and formaldehyde. Cell counts were due to remarkable enhanced abundanc- harmful algae blooms (among them A.
made following the Utermöhl method es of A. sanguinea, reaching up to 2 mil- sanguinea) can be spatially correlated
with 5 ml of material observed using lion cells L-1, as well as enhanced envi- with effluent discharge gradients [3].
an inverted microscope Olympus CKX ronmental heterogeneity (variability in On another level, a disturbance source
Figure 1. Map showing (G) the geographic location of the study area in Brazil, (A-D) the sampled sites along the Serinhaém River, (E ) biovol-
ume (log transformed) of A. sanguinea along the Serinhaém River (point density) and clusters based on spatial discontinuities of biovolume
values along sites, (F) light micrograph of sample from site SE10 during the dry season of 2013 (highest accumulation) showing several cells at
different side views (200x magnification) and (H) temporal and spatial variability of the main nutrient and environmental descriptors of the
Serinhaém River. The colors represent each season (blue and purple lines for rainy seasons, red and green lines for dry seasons), the figure is
plotted downward in order to match the map visualization.
16 HARMFUL ALGAE NEWS NO. 67 / 2021can affect the entire structure of a com- ing biovolume variability in both rainy sanguinea in estuarine waters is consid-
munity due to changes in composition seasons. ered to be ecosystem disruptive [6,7],
due to outcomes of biotic interactions The environmental variables (Fig- demanding conservative attention and
with one species being benefited while ure 1H) clearly demonstrated the estua- management efforts.
another one is harmed. The spatial loca- rine characteristics of the downstream
tion of SE10 within an area of potential section of the Serinhaém River, wherein Acknowledgements
disturbance driven by urban tributaries well marked gradients were observed The authors wish to thank the Re-
alters ecological stoichiometry locally with salinity increasing seaward and search Support Foundation of the State
and regionally, since the sites are con- nutrient concentrations increasing of Bahia - FAPESB for a scholarship to
nected by dispersal [4]. towards the warm, nutrient-rich up- P.M.B.N. and for funding the sampling
In Camamu Bay the main signifi- stream sites. The annual mean temper- campaigns (grant number FAPESB
cant variables explaining the biovol- ature ranged from 21ºC to 25ºC and sig- RED0026/2014), and Coordenação de
ume site-based typologies according to nificantly explained biovolume during Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível
discriminant analysis were salinity and the second rainy season (discriminant Superior – CAPES, for a Ph.D. scholar-
silicate. However, Si:DIN ratio and dis- analysis, p = 0.02). Conversely, tem- ship.
solved oxygen were significant only in perature differed remarkably between
2013, while pH, nitrate and Si:TP were the two rainy seasons at SE7 (where References
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pietro.barbosa@ufba.edu.br
were significant variables in explain- blooms by the dinoflagellate Akashiwo
Continued from page 13 (EO Data Science) for his helpful sup- Authors
Felipe Lobo, Federal University of Pelotas
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which could be accomplished with more Pelotas/ RS, Brazil.
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Acknowledgements
We are grateful to Juan Torres-Batllo
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