Harmful Algal Blooms

Question 1

What is a harmful algal bloom?

Answer 1

Intense growth and concentration of an algal species that causes deleterious effects on the health of species and the environment

Question 2

What are the primary effects from toxic and environmentally harmful algae?

Answer 2

• Human health impacts
• Fish kills and other mortality events
• Attenuates light
• Hypoxia/Anoxia
• Dead zones

Question 3

How are HABs initiated on the West Florida Shelf?

Answer 3

• Initiating AT DEPTH OFFSHORE
• 100-160 km from shore
• 40-80m depth
• Transported onshore at depth via southwestern ocean currents
• Upwelling of deep waters near the coast brings cells to the surface
• Year round background concentrations
• > 5,000 cells/L
• Atmosphere via N-fixing
• Grazing/waste/degradation
• Fish kills
• Estuaries/Land
• Upwelling
• K. brevis is ecologically flexible
  *Broad salinity and temperature tolerance
  *Capable/efficient at using diversity of nutrients
• ‘Slow grower’
• Typically uni-specific bloom events

Question 4

What parameters are needed for blooms to occur?

Answer 4

Biggest trigger of bloom events is excess nutrients in a system (nutrient loading), sunlight, water

Question 5

What are the organism names
associated with blooms in Florida?

Answer 5

• Karenia brevis (GoM and occasionally Atl)
• Microcystis (Okeechobee)
• Aureoumbra lagunensis (IRL)