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 numerous fish collected in Kaukura Island (CBA-N2a), suggesting that blooms of toxic Gambierdiscus had previously occurred in this area, leading to the bioaccumulation of CTXs in marine products, but had disappeared at the time of the SPATT devices deployment. Another explanation could be that SPATT devices allow for the detection of CTXs in the field only when high levels of CTXs are dissolved in the seawater and are thus relevant only in highly ciguateric locations. In all cases, these results (summarized in Fig. 2) confirmed the ability of SPATT technology to detect CTXs in the field and thus emphasize the relevance of this toxin-based technique as a useful supplementary tool when assessing the risks associated with Gambierdiscus proliferation in locations highly prone to ciguatera. It should be highlighted that SPATT devices are only able to give indications of the presence of Gambierdiscus cells (detection of MTX3) and their toxicity (detection of CTXs) in an area at a given time, but they are not effective to guarantee the edibility of HARMFUL ALGAE NEWS NO. 60 / 2018 marine products that could have bio-accumulated toxins in their tissues. The simplicity, low-cost and logistical advantages (e.g. storage and transport) offered by these easy-to-use devices make SPATT technology a valuable tool well adapted to the survey of CFP risk, most notably in widely dispersed and remote sampling locations in PICTs. Moreover, given the risk of simultaneous accumulation of multiple biotoxins in seafood products in tropical environments, the use of SPATT technology, when combined with downstream analyses such as LCMS/MS multi-toxin screenings, also offers promising prospects in the framework of emerging toxins surveillance. Acknowledgments This work was supported by funds from France and French Polynesia (Contrat de Projets Caractérisation et gestion des risques environnementaux et sanitaires liés au développement de phytobenthos ciguatérigène en Polynésie française CARISTO-Pf - n 7937/MSR/ REC; Fonds Pacifique Ciguatera: a neglected disease of the South Pacific - n CZT 1065 01 T). References 1. Dickey RW & Plakas SM 2010. Toxicon 56: 123-136 2. Roué M et al 2016. Harmful Algae 57: 78-87 3. Darius et al 2018. Toxins 10(1): 2 4. Darius et al 2018. Mar Drugs 16: 122 5. Skinner MP et al 2011. PLoS Negl Trop Dis 5(12): e1416 6. MacKenzie LA et al 2004. Toxicon 44: 901-918 7. Roué et al 2018. Toxins 10: 167 8. Caillaud A et al 2011. Harmful Algae 10: 433-446 9. Roué et al 2018. Harmful Algae 71: 40-49 10. Pisapia et al 2017. Mar Drugs 15: 220 Authors Mélanie Roué, Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD) - UMR 241-EIO, PO Box 53267, 98716 Pirae, Tahiti, French Polynesia Hélène Taiana Darius, Clémence Gatti & Mireille Chinain, Institut Louis Malardé (ILM), Laboratory of Toxic Microalgae - UMR 241-EIO, PO Box 30, 98713 Papeete, Tahiti, French Polynesia David Timothy Harwood, Cawthron Institute, Private Bag 2, Nelson, 7010, New Zealand Corresponding author: melanie.roue@ird.fr 9 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