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 (Callinectes sapidus) (B) during the bloom in
Guanaroca Lagoon (January 2014)
Fig. 3. A more recent C. polykrikoides bloom from beaches in Cienfuegos Bay (June 2016).
A. Cochlodinium polykrikoides. B. Discolorations and foam from C. polykrikoides blooms in
the beach.
perature exceeding the historical av-
erage of 25.49 C by 1.06 C and 68
of the Cuban territory suffered severe
droughts from November 2014 to Oc-
tober 2015, affecting both the dry and
rainy season 7. These extreme weath-
er conditions appeared to stimulate the
growth of some dinoflagellates in em-
bayments and restricted coastlines in
Cuba. Within the same period (August
2015), a bloom of Vulcanodinium rugo-
sum caused acute skin irritation in bath-
4
ers from Cienfuegos Bay (in prep.), and
more recently during the early rainy
season (June 2016), another bloom of
C. polykrikoides was observed in beach-
es of Cienfuegos Bay without apparent
harmful effects (Fig. 3).
Fish-killing blooms of C. polykrikoi-
des similar to those from Guanaroca
Lagoon/Cienfuegos Bay have been re-
corded only in one other embayment
of south-eastern Cuba (Santiago de
Cuba Bay), and always during hot dry
Thanks to Sinai Barcia (INSMET-Cien-
fuegos) for providing meteorological
data, and to Yenizeys Cabrales and Ale-
jandro Garcia (CEAC) for help in the de-
scription of the study area (Guanaroca
Lagoon). This work was funded by IAEA
regional project ARCAL RLA, 7/014 on
toxic algal blooms in the Caribbean re-
gion.
References
1. Kudela RM & Gobler CJ 2012. Harmful
Algae 14: 71-86
2. Margalef R 1961. Inv Pesq 18: 7678
3. Kim DI et al 2004. J Plankton Res 26:
61-66
4. Muñoz Caravaca A et al 2012. Natural
Resource Modeling 25: 434-455
5. Moreira A et al 2014. J Integrated Coast-
al Zone Management 14: 597-609
6. Barcia S et al 2014. Boletín Climático
Mensual No. 1. INSMET-Cienfuegos
7. INSMET-Cuba 2015. http://www.met.
inf.cu/asp/clima/Sequia/2015
8. Gómez L et al 2007. Rev Invest Mar 28:
87-89
9. CPHE 2015. http://instituciones.sld.cu/
hgrilloscu/2015/01/15/direcion-pro-
vincialde-salud-centro-provincial-de-
higiene-epidemiologia-y-microbiologia-
santiago-de-cuba/
10. Delgado G et al 2016. HAN 53: 8
Authors
Angel R Moreira, Augusto Comas, Aimeé
Valle, Dismey Sosa & Alain Muñoz,
Centro de Estudios Ambientales de Cienfue-
gos (CEAC), Carretera a Castillo de Jagua,
Km 1.5, AP. 5, 59350 Cienfuegos, Cuba.
E-mail:
angelmoreiragonzalez
gmail.com
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