Barcodes and long term changes in HAB distributions Thal-ass-ee-oh-CY-ra, Key-TOSS-er-us,Pro -toe-pear-a-DIN-ee-um, Sir-A-she-um... this might be a parody of a (very short) genetic barcode or it might be gibberish. It is in fact a sample from a list of phytoplankton genera on flashcards designed to help children pronounce Latin names. Fun for the kids, perhaps. Useful? It may lead to some idiosyncratic spelling habits. As Roman poet Horace famously wrote, Nihil est ab omni parte beatum (there are no unmixed blessings). But lets return to barcodes. DNA barcoding uses short standardized DNA regions, commonly parts of genes which code for ribosomal RNAs like 18S rDNA, both to identify species which bear such names and the range of functional diversity. Today it is easy to scoop terabases of meta-genomic data out of the oceans (Cedrić Bernay, O-243). Barcoding now provides a rapid tool to survey harmful species (Kieng Soon Hii, P-048; Patricia ParedesBanda, P-056; Ana Baricević, P-186), to define species boundaries and taxonomic diversity in general, and to delineate phylogenies. It is not yet fully foolproof, and the taxonomic resolution which can be achieved varies between groups and geographical regions. A more challenging application is to find ecological meaning, to look inside the black box of the microbial community, but functional roles based on genomics are slowly emerging (Pierre Ramond, P-063). The Humboldt Current bathes the coasts of Chile and Peru and forms the eastern limb of the South Pacific subtropical gyre (Fig. 1). Off Ecuador it turns west and becomes the South Equatorial Current. The East Australian (EAC) Current forms the western limb of this gyre. The circuit is completed by the West Wind Drift (Antarctic Circumpolar Current), which is shared with the Indian Ocean and South Atlantic gyres. Variations in the intensity of these currents on decadal and longer time scales are now well established [1-2], associated with changes in wind forcing, more precisely with a poleward shift of westerlies in the Southern Hemisphere [3-5]. Winds have increased since the 1950s off Peru, with a decadal signal superimposed on the longer term trend (there is also an ENSO signal). Such variations are associated with fluctuations in the yields of fisheries, partly mediated through changes in primary production and subsequent recruitment, the match-mismatch hypothesis [6]). The EAC has two branches. One branch turns east along the Tasman front towards New Zealand, the other flows southwards along the Australian coast. Intensification of the latter since the 1940s has caused it to flow farther south (7), and it now casts eddies to the east of Tasmania. Some faunal elements from further north have colonized coastal waters in eastern Australia. These include the invasive shore crab Carcinus maenas, and the native sea urchin Centrostephanus rodgersii which has created urchin barrens. Heavy fishing of lobsters, Jasus edwardsii, which Fig. 1. Sketch of South Pacific Gyre, EAC = East Australian Current 10 eat urchins may have augmented the barrens. Some plankters too have extended their ranges, in the EAC [8, 9]. Range expansions (and contractions) reflect the dynamics of population pressures and local extinctions. For HAB enthusiasts, one of the most significant aspects of these variations must be the timing of phytoplankton growth, which over a four decade period (1940s to 1980s) off Tasmania (Maria Island) varied by several months [6]. Some changes here may not be entirely due to intensification of the EAC; a short list of other possible causative agents includes introductions, eutrophication, aquaculture, and more intense exploration. Rare or cryptic species may still resist discovery. Some of these may act concurrently. The number of possible permutations of n such agents is n!/(n k)!, where k is the number we eliminate from consideration. So even if we consider that two of the five agents mentioned above are implausible, we still have 5!/(5 2)! = 20 permutations, already a lengthy agenda. Bolch & Salas [10] tackled these difficulties on the basis of rDNA barcodes and other evidence, and concluded that three HAB species in the region are introductions (Gymnodinium catenatum, Alexandrium catenella, A. tamarensis). There are of course doubts, due in part to a longstanding habbological tradition which maintains Alexandrium taxonomy in a permanent state of flux (Sirje Sildever, O-126; Tomohiro Nishimura, P-107; Silke Wohlrab, O-152), and also to problem with algorithms, also in flux. At least one of Bolchs isolates (ATBB01) has been given a new name, A australiense [11]. The agenda lengthens. There have been frequent suggestions in the decades following a PSP outbreak in Chile in 1972, that the Alexandrium catenella responsible had by the 1990s extended its range about 10 of latitude northwards, from Magallanes to Aysén and Chiloé. But cyst data and genetics do not support the hypothesis of an expansion on this time scale. Sediments in Bahía Quellón in 43 S contain cysts dating back to 1929 [12]. Regional rDNA variations of Chilean isolates are larger than expected, and rather indicate recolonization [13], in other words the plankton sampling and genetic analyses would appear to provide evidence HARMFUL ALGAE NEWS NO. 62 / 2019 Harmful Algae News An IOC Newsletter on Toxic Algae and Algal Blooms No. 62 - June 2019 www.ioc-unesco.org/hab The 18th International Conference for Harmful Algae Twenty five years after the 6th International Conference on Toxic Marine Phytoplankton (6th ICHA, 1993), experts on harmful algal bloom Fig. 2. Ice-breaking at La Cité, Nantes, during the 18th ICHA, 2018 SHA society members were kept very busy, fully engaged with the evaluation of student presentations to choose the candidates for the Maureen Keller awards, the election of Yasumoto lifetime achievement awards, voting for future con Scientific and social scenes from participants during the 18th ICHA, Nantes, 2018. HARMFUL ALGAE NEWS NO. 62 / 2019 3 Scientific Highlights of the 18th Inter national Conference on Harmful Algae Plenary talks and Yasumoto awards Each morning and afternoon session began with plenary speakers who covered a number of topics including: climate change impacts on inland and coastal eutrophication (Anna M. Michalek), chem Maria Immacolata Ferrante investigated the Pseudo-nitzschia multistriata sexual cycle and found the gene that determines the mating type in this pennate diatom. Pseudo-nitzschia is found globally in the Tara Oceans dataset and the genes expressed during the sexual phase can track this important but Fig. 2. Extracellular vesicles in Alexandrium minutum. From left to right: Vegetative cell under light microscopy; epifluorescence microscopy showing the cell chloroplasts in red; vesicles in green due to lipid stain PKH67, and composite of the epifluorescence images, theca of the cell is in blue, Fig. 3. Co-evolutionary arms race. Diatoms sense presence of copepods via presence of chemical cues (copepodamides), and respond by producing domoic acid which then affect the copepods (reduced escape response). Photo courtesy of Nina Lundholm. War (Pat Tester) the socio economics session was as di Fig. 5. IAEA Technical Cooperation project: the Caribbean team having a coordination meeting with the boss. produced by Alexandrium minutum and demonstrated that these EVs were produced in laboratory cultures and in situ bloom conditions. The EVs appeared adhered to the cell surface of A. minutum c Global HABs, Global HAB Status Reporting, and Climate Change HABs and climate change attracted a record of 139 abstracts at the Nantes Conference. Research towards predicting the impact of climate change has progressed from single factor growth experiments (e.g. temperature, pCO2) with limited HAB s Barcodes and long term changes in HAB distributions Thal-ass-ee-oh-CY-ra, Key-TOSS-er-us,Pro -toe-pear-a-DIN-ee-um, Sir-A-she-um... this might be a parody of a (very short) genetic barcode or it might be gibberish. It is in fact a sample from a list of phytoplankton genera on flashcards designed to of a highly dynamic biogeographical boundary. Taxonomic uncertainties exist in Chilean waters too, and more recently (2006) PSP was detected as far north as Bahía Mejillones in 23 S. Pre-instrumental proxies indicate climate trends on secular and longer time scales. Luminescent bands in Porites cora Unprecedented bloom of the cyano bacteria Aphanizomenon in a coastal bay of El Salvador Cyanobacteria bloom in marine, freshwater and estuarine ecosystems [1]. It is widely recognized that increased nutrient inputs in waterbodies may enhance cyanobacterial growth, resulting in harmful algal blooms [ Fig. 2. Aphanizomenon fascicles found in Bahía de Jiquilisco observed using an inverted microscope. providing video material, the Secretary of Scientific Research from the University of El Salvador for logistic support, and the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources (MARN) for providing wate Dinoflagellate toxins recorded during an extensive coastal bloom in northern Chile Harmful algal blooms (HABs), commonly known as red tides, are primarily caused by the accelerated growth of phytoplankton due to a variety of oceanographic factors. Dinoflagellates and diatoms are often the phytoplank Table 1. Toxin concentration per sample. Toxins screened included PTX1 (pectenotoxin-1), PTX2 (pectenotoxin-2) and YTX (yessotoxin). DA (domoic acid), SPX1 (spirolide-1), GYM (gymnodimine), OA (okadaic acid), DTX1 (dinophysistoxin-1), DTX2 (dinophysistoxin-2), AZA1 (azaspiracid-1), AZA2 (azaspiracid HABs in Paradise revisited Fig. 1. Map of Rangitāhua/Kermadec Islands. Over 700 kilometres to the northeast of New Zealand are the largely uninhabited Rangitāhua/Kermadec Islands (Fig. 1). The islands fall within New Zealands exclusive economic zone and several recent expeditions have resulted in Table 1. Dinoflagellate species identified in epiphytic samples collected from Rangitāhua/Kermadec Islands, 2013-2018. Species Amphidinium carterae A.cf. massartii Coolia malayensis Gambierdiscus australes* G. honu G. polynesiensis Ostreopsis sp. 3 Prorocentrum cf. emarginatum P. hoffmanianum P Epiphytic dinoflagellates from Niue, South Pacific Ocean cal Assistance to Travellers (IAMAT) [6] suggests avoidance of reef fish over 2.7 kg and avoidance of the liver, intestine, head and roe of smaller reef fish. Gambierdiscus sp. was reported in Niue in 2008, although no molecular confirmation Fig. 2. Sampling site at Avatele Beach (left) and coastal view (right), Niue. The ICMSS is an initiative of researchers from various international institutions, including the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), related to the safety of molluscan shellfish. It seeks to be The ICES-IOC Working Group on Harmful Algal Bloom Dynamics 2019 Meeting The International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES) - Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of UNESCO (IOC) Working Group on Harmful Algal Bloom Dynamics (WGHABD) met from the 2nd 4th April 2019. The meeting wa Intergovernmental Panel convenes to set priorities for international cooperation on mitigating the effects of Harmful Algae The Fourteenth Session of the IOC Intergovernmental Panel on Harmful Algal Blooms (IPHAB) was held at UNESCO Headquarters, Paris, from 24th to 26th April 2019. The Panel review GlobalHAB and the UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development (2021-2030) GlobalHAB webpage (www.globalhab.info) On 1st January 2016, the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (adopted by world leaders in September 2015 at an historic U GlobalHAB APPLICATION FORM FOR ENDORSEMENT OF ACTIVITIES To be completed in English and send to the Chair of the GlobalHAB SSC. For further guidance consult the Chair and/or Vicechair of the GlobalHAB SSC. Date: 1. PROJECT TITLE: Planned duration of activity, from : 2. APPLICANT(S): Name and tit GlobalHAB International Coordi nated Activities Some international coordinated activities listed in the Science and Implementation Plan are being led by the GlobalHAB SSC because their implementation depends on international coordination and funding. The SSC has assumed this responsibility for their Scientists interested in the topic can contact Leonardo Guzmán (leonardo. guzman@ifop.cl) and Henrik Enevoldsen (h.enevoldsen@bio.ku.dk). May 2020 Planning is underway for a workshop on Modelling and prediction of harmful algal blooms, from event response to multi-decadal projections to be held in ISSHAs Corner The International Society for the Study of Harmful Algae (ISSHA) convened the 18th International Conference on Harmful Algae (ICHA 18), held in Nantes, France, from 21th to 26th October 2018. The ISSHA Council had two opportunistic meetings: the first before the conference on Sunday 21 Esther Garcés (Spain) Ian Jenkinson (China, France) Ingrid Sassenhagen (France, Germany) Keith Davidson (United Kingdom) Henrik Enevoldsen (Denmark) Luis Mafra (Brazil) Shauna Murray (Australia) Marta Estrada (Spain) Philipp Hess (France) Ichiro Imai (Japan) Dedmer B. Van de Wall (Netherlands) Steff logic interactions, chemical ecology and microalgal physiology. Marc Long (Best Oral Presentation) Northeast Fisheries Science Center, United States) in Milford Connecticut, studying phytoplankton physiology with Dr. Gary H. Wikfors. The work presented at ICHA2018 was part of his Ph.D. research, r She continued her research in toxicology with a thesis project on the development of new cell models of the intestinal barrier (tri-culture and co-culture with epithelial cells, goblet cells and glial enteric cells), a tool for a best evaluation of toxicity of 6 phycotoxins. This thesis is supervise Anna Godhe - In Memoriam Anna Godhe passed away on April 4th 2019 after a strenuous fight with cancer. Her untimely passing represents a big loss for the scientific community. We all remember her true passion for research, her important contributions to marine phytoplankton ecology and her open mind Forthcoming events ICHA 2020 19th ICHA October 11-16, 2020. La Paz, B.C.S. Mexico Registration will open during 2019. ISSHA members can register at special rates! Participants wishing to receive the ISSHA member rate for conference registration must join ISSHA or renew their memberships prior to t Eds-in-chief Beatriz Reguera, IEO, Vigo, Spain Eilen Bresnan, MARLAB, Marine Scotland Science, UK Regional Editors Caribbean: Ernesto Mancera jemancerap@unal.edu.co Europe: Philip Hess Philipp.Hess@ifremer.fr Mediterranean Sea: Adriana Zingone zingone@szn.it India: K.B. Padmakumar kbpadmakumar@g