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 main seasons: dry (November -April) and rainy (May-October). The an- nual mean air temperature is 24.7 C, with the highest (monthly mean 27.0 C) in the rainy season, in June, and the lowest (21.6 C) in Jan- uary. The lagoon is part of a protected area for the conser- vation of biodiversity, in par- Fig. 1. Study area and sampling stations in Guanaroca ticular local and migratory Lagoon, southern Cuba (January 2014). birds, with a great variety of marine fauna including blue The athecate dinoflagellate Cochlodin- crabs (Callinectes sapidus), ostión ium polykrikoides is a common marine (Crassostrea virginica), mussels and ju- invertebrate and fish killer in Japan and venile fish species. Korea, but in the last two decades has During the bloom event, water sam- been reported to cause problems in ples were collected with a Niskin bottle many other countries including Canada, for temperature, salinity and dissolved USA, Pacific Central America, China, oxygen measurements and nutrient Philippines and the Middle East 1. analysis (nitrite and phosphate). Phyto- A bloom of C. polykrikoides was iden- plankton samples were settled using 10 tified in mid-January 2014 in Guanaroca ml sedimentation chambers, and cells Lagoon, southern-central Cuba (Fig. 1). were counted under a Zeiss (Axiovert Patches of red water were noted in the 40) inverted microscope. lagoon, extending into neighboring ar- Specimens collected at Guanaroca eas of the southern basin of Cienfuegos Lagoon had the features typical of C. Bay. At the same time, hundreds of ju- polykrikoides, such as rod-like chloro- venile bocón fish (Cetengraulis eden- plasts and a narrow sulcus located im- tulus), some oysters and blue crabs ap- mediately below the cingulum. A large peared dead in the shore areas (Fig. 2). nucleus and reddish orange pigmented Guanaroca Lagoon (2204N, body were located at the epicone. Cells 8022E) is a small (2.2 km 2 ) shallow were more or less oval, with a girdle making 1.81.9 turns around the cell. The Collection sites inside the anterior part of the lagoon epicone was conical 1 2 and the hypocone Temperature 24,5C 24,5C subspherical. The hy- Salinity 31,3 31,4 pocone of the chains pH 8,49 8,60 1 1 terminal cell was bi- Dissolved O 2 13,7 mg L 21,6 mg L 1 1 3 PO 4 1.59 μg L 3.78 μg L lobed. Cells within Total P 31.6 μg L 1 42.1 μg L 1 the chain were either NO 2 0.303 μg L 1 2.88 μg L 1 spherical or slightly dorso-ventrally de- Table 1. Some abiotic parameters measured during the pressed, and smaller C. polykrikoides bloom in Guanaroca Lagoon (January 2014) HARMFUL ALGAE NEWS NO. 54 / 2016 than single cells. Single cells were 35 45 μm long (41.23 3.54, n=30) and 3035 μm wide (33.83 2.68, n=30). C. polykrikoides specimens in the present study were slightly smaller than the ho- lotype (L: 50 μm) described by Margalef from the neighboring island of Puerto Rico 2. During the bloom, chains of two (predominant), four and eight cells were observed and single cells were found occasionally. The C. polykrikoides bloom reached a maximal density of 7.4 x 10 7 cells L -1 . Environmental conditions (high tem- perature, salinity and irradiance) were consistent with those previously report- ed as favourable for this species in Cuba 3. Nitrite was low; however moderate concentrations of inorganic phosphate and very high of total P, in particular in the more restricted area of the lagoon (Site 2) may have stimulated the bloom development. The high concentration of dissolved oxygen was a good indicator of microalgae overgrowth (Table 1). The high residence time, salinity and transparency of Cienfuegos Bay waters during the dry season seem to be the key factors behind the development and maintenance of the blooms 4. Coin- cidentally, C. polykrikoides populations have been observed only during the dry (March, November-December) and ear- ly rainy (June) seasons, and are gener- ally restricted to the less eutrophic area (southern basin) of the bay. Cochlod- inium blooms have not been observed during the rainy period (September), possibly affected by increased river in- flow in that season 5. Temperature was another important environmental factor associated to the C. polykrikoides event. The bloom observed in the Guan- aroca Lagoon coincided with winter (December-February), with expected average air temperatures between 21 and 22 C. Higher temperatures were re- corded during the first days of January and throughout the preceding month (December 2013). This was one of the warmest Decembers (average tempera- ture of 24.4 C) in the Cienfuegos Prov- ince since records began with a record number of days (14) with maximum temperatures above 30 C 6. There is recent evidence of increas- ing air temperature and drought peri- ods in Cuba associated with the ENSO. 2015 was the warmest of the last 64 years in Cuba with the annual air tem- 3 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