Training Workshop on the Culturing and Identification of Benthic Harmful Marine Dinoflagellates A Training Workshop on the Culturing and Identification of Benthic Harmful Marine Dinoflagellates was held in the State Key Laboratory in Marine Pollu- tion (SKLMP), City University of Hong Kong between 14 and 21 June, 2016. This training workshop was sponsored by the Collaborative Research Fund (CRF), of the Hong Kong Research Grant Council (grant # 8730040). It aimed to train the young scientists and gov- ernment authorities in Hong Kong and mainland China in the standard proto- cols for sampling, isolation, culturing and identification of benthic harmful al- gal bloom (BHAB) species in the coastal coral ecosystems in the South China Sea, where the occurrence and distribution of these dinoflagellates are not known. The workshop drew over 16 partic- ipants, including representatives from the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conser- vation Department (AFCD) of Hong Kong, research staff and postgraduate students of the SKLMP (Fig. 1). A se- ries of lectures on the existing BHAB sampling methods by collecting natural substrates and deploying artificial sub- WORKSHOP MANUA L T r a i n i n g Wo r k s h o p o n CULTURING AND IDENTIFICATION OF BENTHIC HARMFUL MARINE DINOFLAGELLATES 15 20 June 2016 S tate Key Laboratory of M arine Pollution, City University of Hong Kong. strates, as well as the most up-to-date knowledge about morphology-based taxonomy and molecular phylogenetic classification of BHAB species was de- livered in the workshop by Dr Po Teen Lim (Associate Professor of the Univer- sity of Malaya), Dr Chung-Kuang Lu (As- sociate Research Fellow of the National Research Institute of Chinese Medicine) and Dr Chui Pin Leaw (Senior Research Fellow of the University of Malaya). In the workshop, the participants were also given hand-on training on basic and advanced techniques on microalgal culturing and BHAB species identifica- tion including the epifluorescence mi- croscopy technique (Fig. 2). With the support of the Hong Kong Government, a collaborative research project has been initiated to study the effect of BHABs on marine ecosystems and to investigate the primary factors that regulate the distribution, growth and toxicity of BHAB species in Hong Kong waters and along the coast of south China, Taiwan and Malaysia. Tox- ins produced by BHABs can kill fish and disrupt food web structures and the functioning of coral ecosystems. One of the outcomes of the project will be a map that shows levels of BHAB-associ- ated risks. The map should enable ma- rine ecologists, coral and fish conser- vationists and governments to design strategies to monitor BHABs, to develop plans to conserve local coral communi- ties and fisheries resources, and to pro- tect consumers against BHAB-associat- ed illness. Acknowledgements This work was supported by the Hong Kong government through the Col- laborative Research Fund (CRF) of the Research Grant Council (grant # 8730040). Authors Yim Ling Mak & Leo Lai Chan, State Key Laboratory in Marine Pollution, Room B1705, Academic Building 1, City University of Hong Kong, Tat Chee Avenue, Kowloon Tong, Hong Kong Chui Pin Leaw & Po Teen Lim, Bachok Ma- rine Research Station, Institute of Ocean and Earth Sciences, University of Malaya, Bachok, 13610 Kelantan, MALAYSIA. Email: yimlmakcityu.edu.hk; cpleawum.edu.my 10 HARMFUL ALGAE NEWS NO. 54 / 2016 Harmful Algae News An IOC Newsletter on Toxic Algae and Algal Blooms No. 54 - August 2016 www.ioc-unesco.org/hab Exceptional climate anomalies and north wards expansion of Paralytic Shellfish Poisoning outbreaks in Southern Chile Harmful Algal Blooms (HAB), in partic- ular recurrent events of the P 6. Díaz PA et al. 2014. Harmful Algae 40: 9-22 7. Molinet C et al 2003. Rev Chil Hist Nat 76: 681-698 Authors Cristina Hernández, Laboratorio Salud Pública, Seremi de Salud Región de Los Lagos, Crucero 1915, Puerto Montt, Chile Fig. 2. Evolution of the Oceanic Niño Index (ONI) from 1950 to 2016. e Cochlodinium polykrikoides blooms in southern Cuba during anomalous hot dry seasons (average depth, 1.2 m) estu- ary fed by the Arimao River. This wetland is on the south- west of the semi-enclosed Bay of Cienfuegos (southern Cuba) and connected to it by a single channel. The area is subject to two periods (April/May 2005 and January 2015) 8-9. During the 2015, a bloom of C. polykrikoides was also recorded in channels of a small marina from Hava- na, north-western Cuba, in September, without apparent damage to marine life 10. Acknowledgements Fig. 2. C. polykrikoides (A) and dead blue crabs (C Is Ciguatera moving south in Australia? Ciguatera Fish Poisoning (CFP) is well- known in tropical regions around the world, including the Pacific. The illness occurs through the consumption of fish that have accumulated naturally occur- ring ciguatoxins (CTXs) produced by the dinoflagellate genus Ga ic CTX) 8. The illnesses occurred be- tween February and April each year in NSW (Fig 1), coinciding with the peak Spanish mackerel fishing season. There is an apparent southern expansion of the geographic range of CFP along the east coast of Australia (Fig. 1). The catch locations of the fish from t A survey of BHAB assemblages utilizing the artificial substrate method in Rawa Island, Malaysia Benthic dinoflagellates are marine tychoplanktonic inhabitants on the natural substrates of coral reefs in tropical and subtropical coastal wa- ters. These dinoflagellates are associ- ated with their pref Annual variability of Prorocentrum lima and abiotic factors in Chengue Bay, T ayrona National Park, Colombian Caribbean Fig. 1. Study area where samples of Thalassia testudinum were collected. Chengue Bay (black star), Tayrona National Park, Colombian Caribbean Prorocentrum lima is a cosmopolitan s del Mar -CECIMAR (sede Caribe) y Pro- grama de Postgrados en Biología - Línea Biología Marina ( contribution 430 ). Thanks also to the Banco Español de Algas de Gran Canaria, in particular to Mr. E. Soler Onis, and to the Jardin Bo- tánico Canario Viera y Clavijo for sup- port with the SEM, and to t Training Workshop on the Culturing and Identification of Benthic Harmful Marine Dinoflagellates A Training Workshop on the Culturing and Identification of Benthic Harmful Marine Dinoflagellates was held in the State Key Laboratory in Marine Pollu- tion (SKLMP), City University of Hong Kong between 1 Fig. 1. Participants in the workshop at the State Key Laboratory of Marine Pollution, City University of Hong Kong, 14-21 June, 2016. Fig. 2. Demonstrating basic techniques in BHAB culturing (Po Teen Lim, Chung-Kuang Lu, Chui Pin Leaw and the participants). HARMFUL ALGAE NEWS NO. 54 / 2016 11 Regional Training Course on Identifica tion of Harmful Algal Bloom Species in the ASEAN Region, Singapore, 18 th -22 nd July 2016 Harmful algal blooms (HABs) can cause major environmental disturbances, severe economic loss to industries, fisheries and tourism, and also pose significant health risks Participants were encouraged to orga- nize local or regional training courses to train more experts on harmful algae identification. The IOC WESTPAC-HAB working group shall assist local groups in training their local community by sending suitable trainers to the training workshop and by providing te ASIMUTH special issue of Harmful Algae The European Commission (EC) 7th Framework Programme (FP7) project Applied Simulations and Integrated Modelling for the Understanding of Toxic and Harmful Algal Blooms (ASI- MUTH) ran from 2010-2013. It involved 11 partners from Portu- gal, Spain, France, Irela Last News on the 17 th ICHA The local and international organizing committees are busily planning the 17 th International Conference on Harmful Algae (17 th ICHA), in Florianopolis, Bra- zil from 9 th -14 th October 2016. For the first time in history, Latin America will host the conference and is l Forthcoming events Seafood Safety: New Findings & Innovation Challenges Brussels, 25-26 January 2017 Deadline for registration: 15 January 2017 (early bird 25 November 2016). Abstract submission deadline: 15 October 2016. www.ecsafeseafoodconference.com 11th International Conference on Modern and Fo