Harmful Algae News
An IOC Newsletter on Toxic Algae and Algal Blooms
No. 68 - October 2021 www.ioc-unesco.org/hab
The GLOBAL HAB Status Report (GHSR):
4 years later
Why a GHSR was planned
In issue 58 of HAN, we made a call to
participate in the initiative to develop
the first Global Harmful Algal Bloom
Status Report (GHSR) to illustrate
trends of HAB events by collecting all
available data and published information at a global scale [1]. This exercise
was motivated by a number of different reasons. Firstly, it was realised that
after several decades of intensive research, the HAB field was dominated by
the common perception of an increase
of these phenomena around the worlds
seas. Yet so far no sound assessment of
HAB patterns and trends had ever been
attempted. That HABs were expanding and increasing has been commonly
stated in the introductions of many
scientific publications and research
projects. Furthermore IPCC and GOOS
reports used HAB increases as a flag
to point to global change. Fluctuations
and trends in the aquatic environment
under the impact of human activities
and hydrographic/climatic change can
reasonably cause changes in abundance
and distribution of algal species, either toxic or non-toxic. The underlying
question is whether environmental and
human-driven changes unequivocally
determine a global increase of algal
blooms or their impacts. On the other
hand, human activities can act as a multiplier for HAB detection because of
intensification of observational activities driven by increased exploitation of
the coastal zone, as well as progress in
science, but the extent of these effects
had never been quantified. Therefore,
a data-based assessment was needed
to disentangle the different issues leading to the current perception of HAB
trends, and discern a possible spreading and intensification of bloom events
driven by environmental and/or anthropogenic changes from the effects
of a growing awareness resulting from
improved knowledge and monitoring
systems.
A second motivation for GHSR was
the need to demonstrate the relevance
of HAB data collection and systematization for scientific research and management activities. Data related to harmful
algae events are regularly produced in
relation to human health protection
and seafood marketing issues, while
detailed studies on toxic algae and algal bloom occurrence are published in
a myriad of scientific papers not freely
available. To collect these data in well
organised and shared datasets allows
us to perform robust statistical analy-
Content
Featured articles
Global HAB Status Report
(GHSR): 4 years later . .................... 1
Adriana Zingone, Henrik
Enevoldsen & Gustaaf Hallegraeff
Fish killers
Fish filler Heterosigma
akashiwo in a Chilean Fjord ........ 7
Fibrocapsa japonica bloom
in the northern Humboldt
current . ................................................ 9
Other HAB events
Trichodesmium erythraeum
and Prorocentrum rhathymum
bloom in Jalisco, México . .............. 11
Prorocentrum bloom and
gelatinous zooplankton in
Alexandria, Egypt . ........................... 13
Toxin pathways
Elucidating the origin of TTX
in New Zealand bivalves ............... 14
International coordination
and networking
XV IOC-IPHAB panel meeting ..... 16
A European Imaging
FlowCytoBot (IFCB) network ..... 17
In memoriam
Maria Faust obituary ...................... 19
Gertrude Cronberg obituary ....... 21
NEW! HAN DOI now available ... 8
Training HAIS-HAEDAT
to ANCA-IOCARIBE ......................... 12
ISSHA's corner . ................................. 23
Fig. 1. The Harmful Algae information system (HAIS) provides one user entry point for
access to data and information on harmful
algal species, their effects, their occurrences,
the toxins, expertise on HABs, and key references.
ISSHA council elections . ............... 24
Harmful Algae News An IOC Newsletter on Toxic Algae and Algal Blooms No. 68 - October 2021 www.ioc-unesco.org/hab The GLOBAL HAB Status Report (GHSR): 4 years later Why a GHSR was planned In issue 58 of HAN, we made a call to participate in the initiative to develop the first Global Harmful Algal
Table 1. The three main databases concerning harmful microalgal species and their impacts. Toxic species cover all those known to include strains that produce toxins and are hence only potentially toxic. Asterisks indicate mandatory data and information (from [2]). formation made available by data
on human health or activities, or on the environment (Table 1). Both databases rely on the volunteer contribution and inputs by regional editor groups and national representatives within ICES and IOC regional groups. Following our calls at the HAB conference in Brasil [3] and in HAN [1] as well as f
Fig. 4. A. Numbers of HAB events recorded in twelve geographic regions. B. Relative abundance of different HAB types; and C. Seafood toxin syndromes. Paralytic Shellfish Toxins prevailed in East Coast America (ECA), South America (SAM), West Coast America (WCA), South East Asia (SEA) and North East
Fig. 6. The launch of the GHSR was well covered in the global press; here some examples from different continents. ld, resulting in numerous newspaper articles as well as web news (Fig. 6). An open webinar was organised inviting the Editors and the lead Authors of the Special Issue papers, along wi
Future perspectives The GHSR was initially planned to be the first of a series of periodic global overviews along the line of IPCC climate reports. However, the results obtained so far demonstrate that, while impacts from HABs are expected to increase driven by the growth of the human population and
Fish filler Heterosigma akashiwo in Comau Fjord, Southern Chile In early spring of 1988, a massive bloom of the alga Heterosigma akashiwo was observed in Comau Fjord (422210S), Los Lagos, southern Chile, resulting in severe impacts to the local salmon in- dustry [1]. Over three decades later, on Ma
observed in the 2016 Pseudochattonella bloom due to the high concentrations of raphidophyte cells. Acknowledgments We thank Robert Hatfield, from Cefas, UK for the English correction of this note. We also thank the people and customers involved in POAS program. References 1. Castro H et al 1988. IF
First report of a Fibrocapsa japonica Toriumi & Tanako bloom in the northern Humboldt current ecosystem Fig. 1. Sampling sites in Miraflores Bay, Callao (12 S) and Paracas Bay, Pisco (13.70 S). February March 2020 Raphidophycean flagellates associated with massive fish kills have been reported wo
Fig. 3. T-S Diagram for cell concentrations (cell .105. L-1) of F. japonica in Callao (12S), Pisco (13.70S) This species thrives on eutrophic environments and is frequently observed in coastal and brackish waters [11]. These conditions agree with those observed in Miraflores and Paracas bays on the
First major bloom of Trichodesmium erythraeum (Cyanophyceae) and Prorocentrum rhathymum (Dino phyceae) in Yelapa Jalisco, México Fig. 1. Sampling station in Yelapa Jalisco, Bahía de Banderas, Mexican Pacific coast, during the September 2019 bloom of Trichodesmium erythraeum and Prorocentrum rhathym
Acknowledgements The authors are grateful to the research group who performed routine sampling in Bahía de Banderas, Jalisco-Nayarit, México. References 1. Cortés-Lara MC et al (unpubl data) 2. Gárate-Lizárraga I & RE MuciñoMárquez 2012. Oceánides 27(1): 61-64 3. Gárate-Lizárraga I et al 2016. In:
Unexpected Prorocentrum bloom and associated gelatinous zooplankton in Alexandria, Egypt We investigated an unprecedented, massive bloom of the dinoflagellate species Prorocentrum minimum and P. triestinum which co-occurred with dense swarms of the salp Thalia democratica. To our knowledge this bloo
Elucidating the origin of tetrodotoxin in New Zealand bivalves Tetrodotoxin (TTX) is a potent neurotoxin that acts by selectively targeting sodium channels, blocking propagation of action potentials and causing paralysis [1]. It has been responsible for countless human intoxications and deaths aroun
australis [8]. Cyanobacteria are well known for producing a wide range of marine and freshwater toxins and this finding warrants further investigation. Lastly, the possibility that wild P. australis could sequester and accumulate TTX from a dietary source was assessed. A novel method to artificially
A European Imaging FlowCytoBot (IFCB) network Fig. 1 Map showing locations of IFCBs operated in Europe until June 2021 and institutes operating the systems. Not all systems are fully operational. NIVA plans to operate one IFCB as part of ferrybox system on route Oslo-Kiel and SMHI plans to operate
Fifteenth session of the IOC Inter governmental Panel on Harmful Algal Blooms (IPHAB) In line with Covid-19 restrictions and to limit travel, for the first time since its establishment in 1991 IPHAB was held online (Fig. 1). The fifteenth IPHAB session was held between 23-25 March 2021. The mission
Results from the ICES-IOC Working Group on Harmful Algal Bloom Dynamics and ICES-IOC-IMO Working Group on Ballast and other Ship Vectors. Updates on the continued publication of the IOC Harmful Algae News. Implementation of four training courses. Growing development of the regional activities in
Maria Anna Faust 1930-2021 Dr. Maria Anna Faust (neé Spillenberg), aquatic microbiologist and research botanist emerita from the Smithsonian Institution, passed away on April 24, 2021, at the age of 91 from complications related to a stroke. Maria Anna Spillenberg was born in Budapest, Hungary on Ap
University of Oslo. There Maria and her cohorts, many of whom would become leaders in their field, spent long days and some long nights under the tutelage of outstanding instructors, Grethe Hasle (diatoms) with assistance from Eric Syvertsen, Karen Steidinger (dinoflagellates) with assistance from K
Gertrud Cronberg 1937-2021 Phycologist Gertrud Cronberg has completed her odyssey. A pioneer in the study of cyanobacteria and chrysophytes, limnologist professor emerita Gertrud Cronberg has left us. She worked at Lund University for more than 40 years. Gertrud was born in Malmö in 1937. Her intere
research, and her teaching and supervision of technicians, Gertrud received the honorary title, Mother of Limnology in Brazil. In the early 1980s, she organized annual UNESCO-sponsored courses on tropical water resources for lake managers. This initiated a project on Lake Kariba, an impounded reserv
ISSHA's Corner The 19th International Conference on Harmful Algae (ICHA 2021) will be held for the first time from 10th - 15th of October using an on-line format from La Paz, B.C.S., Mexico. We have received a total of 403 contributions divided between 9 plenary speakers, 244 oral presentations, 40
Elections for International Society for the Study of Harmful Algae (ISSHA) Officers and Council members One of the benefits of the membership of the International Society for the Study of Harmful Algae (ISSHA) is the ability to vote for new Council members and Officers of the Society. Please take a