Canadian HAB Scientists Hold Workshop to Establish National Priorities and Develop Research Network A National Harmful Algal Bloom (HAB) workshop was organized and chaired by Dr. Ian Perry at the Institute of Ocean Sciences (IOS), Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO), Sidney, British Columbia, July 11-13, 2017. Sixteen workshop participants, representing DFO scientists as well as invited experts from the United States and Canada, discussed Canadian HAB priorities and the development of a network for HAB research in Canada. Global and national events, including large HAB-related fish kills, HAB impacts on marine mammals and unprecedented domoic-acid-producing HAB events on the Pacific coast, have brought this issue forward as a national research priority. Specific concerns in Canadian marine waters were highlighted, including the impact of HABs as an ecosystem stressor and the negative consequences of HAB events caused by their phycotoxin production and its accumulation in shellfish and the food web. Little is known about HABs in Arctic and sub-Arctic regions of Canada, where climate change is expanding potential areas for such blooms. A concern was noted that low temperatures could result in slow phycotoxin depuration rates in several bivalve species, and this in turn could lead to toxin accumulations and impacts beyond single events. Other particularly vulnerable areas include Marine Protected Areas and aquaculture sites. Priorities for workshop participants were to expand existing work and strengthen connections to related programs, such as environmental monitoring and invasive species studies, to provide more HAB information for Canada. The potential for linkages between Canadian interests and the priorities of international networks, such as ICES-IOC WGHABD, IOC IPHAB and Global HAB, was also discussed. A recommendation from workshop participants was to produce a formal CSAS (Canadian Science Advisory Secretariat) research document and review to assess the status of knowledge in Canada, identify knowledge gaps and highlight areas of particular concern for current and future impacts of HABs on ecosystems and resources. The Science Advice on impact of marine HABs on the Canadian ecosystem is scheduled for early 2019. Membership of the Canadian HAB Working Group (CAN HAB) is currently composed of the workshop participants who have a broad range of expertise including taxonomy, genomic, modelling and remote sensing. However, it is hoped that the network will expand to include additional academic, federal and provincial researchers and managers interested in HAB issues in Canada. The Chair of CAN HAB is Cynthia McKenzie (Cynthia.mckenzie@dfo-mpo. gc.ca), a research scientist with DFO based in St. Johns, Newfoundland and Labrador. She is the point of contact for more information on this HAB network. Acknowledgements We are grateful to Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Science Branch, for financial and technical support for this meeting. The Workshop was hosted by the Institute of Ocean Science, Sydney, BC and we appreciate their hospitality and support. Authors Cynthia H. McKenzie, Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Centre, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, St. Johns, NL A1C 5X1, Canada Jennifer L. Martin, St. Andrews Biological Station, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, St. Andrews, NB, E5B 2L9, Canada Corresponding author: Cynthia.mckenzie@dfo-mpo.gc.ca Fig. 1. Working Group meeting participants (from left to right): Andrea Locke, Ian Perry, Jennifer Martin, Nicky Haigh, Christine Michel, Emmanuel Devred, Luc Comeau, Vera Trainer, Charlie Trick, Cynthia McKenzie, Caroline Longtin, Amy Tabata, Angelica Pena, Bill Cochlan, Michael Scarratt. Participating by telephone: Elysha Gordon. Members of the working group also include Stephen Bates, Michel Starr and Chris Pearce. HARMFUL ALGAE NEWS NO. 60 / 2018 19 Harmful Algae News An IOC Newsletter on Toxic Algae and Algal Blooms No. 60 - July 2018 www.ioc-unesco.org/hab Marine eukaryote and HAB monitoring in Japan with next generation technology Sequencing technologies such as Illumina MiSeq have made it possible to obtain billions of sequence reads in a Frequency distribution (%) the surface data was used in this study. Surface seawater (0.5 L) was collected weekly with a plastic bucket during the same period. For MPS-based monitoring based on amplicon-seq of 18S-rRNA gene (V79 region), PCR amplification and 454 pyrosequencing were performed accor Inland Sea, 2-17-5 Maruishi, Hatsukaichi, Hiroshima 739-045, Japan Hiroshi Shimada, Central Fisheries Research Institute of Hokkaido Research Organization, Hamanaka-cho 238, Yoichi, Hokkaido 0468555, Japan Seiji Katakura, City of Mombetsu, Kaiyo-koryukan, Kaiyo-koen, Mombetsu, Hokkaido 094-0031, Jap Quantifying dinoflagellate cysts in bottom sediments: a response to Anderson 2018 Problems associated with quantifying dinoflagellate cysts in bottom sediments featured prominently in Don Anderson s personal retrospective view of his contribution to the early days of HAB cyst research published rece viously, sample sites should be chosen to avoid such areas if possible. Clearly, there is room for questions or criticism when this dynamic system is modelled from the assumption that bottom sediments, for example in Anderson s work in The Gulf of Maine, are in a static stable condition whereby a sa Contribution of marine invertebrates to Ciguatera poisoning : the case study of French Polynesia Reported as early as the 15th century by explorers, ciguatera fish poisoning (CFP) is the most prominent non-bacterial seafood poisoning worldwide. Widespread in tropical and subtropical regions, CFP res au développement du phytoplancton ciguatérigène en Polynésie française: CARISTO-Pf n7937/MSR/REC of 4th of December 2015 and Arrêté nHC/491/ DIE/BPT of 30th March 2016). Figure 2. Comparison of Pacific ciguatoxins (P-CTXs) profiles in A) in vitro cultures of Gambierdiscus polynesiensis (TB-92 [14]) Solid Phase Adsorption Toxin Tracking (SPATT) technology for field monitoring of Gambierdiscus toxins with passive samplers Ciguatera poisoning is a seafood intoxication classically associated with the consumption of tropical coral reef fish contaminated with ciguatoxins (CTXs), although some marine Fig. 2. Summary of the results demonstrating that SPATT passive sampling could advantageously contribute to the reinforcement of ciguateric risk assessment and management programmes as a supplementary tool. or of very low densities of toxic Gambierdiscus cells. However, CTXs were detected in numero New limits of Ostreopsis distribution in the Bay of Biscay: a first report of Ostreopsis in Santander Bay, Cantabria (Northern Spain) Fig. 1. Location of sampling sites The genus Ostreopsis encompasses benthic dinoflagellates that represent one of the main microalgal threats for beach tourism in w Bloom of Ostreopsis cf. siamensis in Lisbon Bay Fig. 1. Sampling sites on Lisbon Bay Reports of benthic HAB events have increased during the last decade in temperate regions. These have been associated with proliferations of benthic toxic dinoflagellates, in particular species of Ostreopsis. The M Table1 1- List - List the macroalgaecommunity communityspecies species Table ofof the macroalgae ITSA and ITSB primers [6]. Phylogenetic analysis (not Asparagopsis armata Corallina sp. shown) revealed that all the Caulacanthus ustulatus Cystoseira sp. studied sequences grouped Ceramiacea Derbesia s A possible link between the breakdown of a fertilizer tank and a toxic Pseudonitzschia bloom fishery, leaving toxic blooms undetected in other areas. By the time of the bloom, the diatom community primarily consisted of P. seriata (Fig. 3). Identification of P. seriata as the potential culprit diat Fig. 3. Pseudo-nitzschia seriata TEM micrograph of the poroid structure arranged within the striae consisting of two outer rows of larger poroids and one or two inner rows of smaller poroids. induce DA production in P. australis [7], and the most potent DA-inducing N form has been shown to be urea. Golden alga Prymnesium parvum Carter bloom off Azhikode, southwest India In September 2009, during the southwest monsoon season, a quasi-monospecific bloom of Prymnesium parvum was collected off Azhikode (10o 11 02 N; 76o 09 22 E), on the southwest coast of India (Fig. 1). A conspicuous pale browni Regional Workshop on Monitoring and Management Strategies for Benthic HABs if possible, establish tools for standardized procedures. The exercise is open to the entire international community. The goal of achieving improved assessments of the risks associated with BHABs will help reduce the health, Workshop on morpho-molecular methods for the study of dinoflagellate cysts A workshop on techniques for the morphological and molecular identification of cysts from toxic HAB species, led by Drs Kenneth Neil Mertens, Kirsty Smith, Lesley Rhodes and Lincoln MacKenzie, was held recently at the Cawthro Cawthron Summer Scholar Explores Bloom-Forming Freshwater Cyano bacteria Globally, cyanobacteria blooms in freshwater environments are causing water quality problems and health risks with increasing frequency. New Zealand is no stranger to this, suffering from blooms of toxin-producing cyanobacteria Canadian HAB Scientists Hold Workshop to Establish National Priorities and Develop Research Network A National Harmful Algal Bloom (HAB) workshop was organized and chaired by Dr. Ian Perry at the Institute of Ocean Sciences (IOS), Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO), Sidney, British Columbia, July 11- Joint FAO, IAEA, IOC and WHO Technical Meeting for the development of an InterAgency Global Ciguatera Strategy Harmful Algae News has previously brought information on an initiative between the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Environment Laboratories in Monaco jointly with the Oceanographi 12th Advanced Phytoplankton Course - APC 12 Identification, Taxonomy, Systematics Roscoff Biological Station (France) - 19th May to 8th June 2019 APC12 is organized by the Station Biologique de Roscoff together with the Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn and the IOC Science and Communication Centre on H ICHA 2018 News: 669 abstracts evaluated ! 250 orals + 45 ignite talks selected and participants notified ICHA 2018 News: 669 abstracts evaluated ! 9 plenaries confirmed 250 orals + 45 ignite talks selected and participants notified 3 satellite sessions 9 plenaries confirmed 3 satellite sessions