Ocean warming since 1982 has expanded the niche of toxic algal blooms in the North Atlantic and North Pacific oceans

This study used high-resolution (daily, quarter-degree resolution) sea-surface temperature records to model trends in growth rates and bloom-season duration for two of the most toxic and widespread harmful algal bloom species indigenous to the North Atlantic and North Pacific oceans. Alexandrium fun...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
Main Authors: Gobler, Christopher J., Doherty, Owen M., Hattenrath-Lehmann, Theresa K., Griffith, Andrew W., Kang, Yoonja, Litaker, R. Wayne
Format: Text
Language:English
Published: National Academy of Sciences 2017
Subjects:
Biological Sciences
Pacific
North Atlantic
Online Access:http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5441705/
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28439007
https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1619575114
Description
Summary:This study used high-resolution (daily, quarter-degree resolution) sea-surface temperature records to model trends in growth rates and bloom-season duration for two of the most toxic and widespread harmful algal bloom species indigenous to the North Atlantic and North Pacific oceans. Alexandrium fundyense synthesizes saxitoxin and Dinophysis acuminata synthesizes okadaic acid, which cause the human health syndromes paralytic and diarrhetic shellfish poisoning, respectively. The model provided hindcasts of harmful algal bloom (HAB) events that were consistent with in situ observations from long-term monitoring programs during the same time period. This study provides evidence that increasing ocean temperatures have already facilitated the intensification of these, and likely other, HABs and thus contribute to an expanding human health threat.

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