An Overview of Harmful Algal Blooms (HABs); Diversity and Dynamics of Toxic Algae

1. An Overview of Harmful Algal Blooms (HABs); Diversity and Dynamics of Toxic Algae Russell G. Rhodes Department of Biology Southwest Missouri State University

2. My Interests in HABs1. Resource for MDC • 1989- Notified by Missouri Department of Conservation of a Fish Kill by “Bluegreen algae” • Identified presumptive agent as a dinoflagellate • 1990- A graduate student worked out the life history • 1991- Published a paper about the organism • Fields, S. D. and R. G. Rhodes. 1991. Ingestion and retention of Chroomonas spp. (Cryptophyceae) by Gymnodinium acidotum (Dinophyceae). J. Phycology 27:525-529.

3. 2. Resource for Department of Natural Resources: Public Health Problem from Drinking Water • Small town west of Springfield had 98 cases of gastrointestinal illness in June, 1990 • Analysis of water reservoir showed possible blue-green algal bloom; call for survey came late in bloom • Analysis of drinking water in hospital showed numerous algae including possible toxin formers.

4. 3. My Professional Involvement as Teacher • BIO 530- Phycology • Spring Semester, 2001 • Thanks for joining this site at02/22/2002 8:55:55 AM! (CST) • Southwest Missouri State UniversityDepartment of BiologyInstructor: Russell G. RhodesOffice: Room 306, Kings Street AnnexPhone: 836-6887E-mail: rgr592f@smsu.edu • The illustration to the right is a colony of Volvox, a member of the order Volvocales, Class Chlorophyceae.

5. Number of Occurrences of a Harmful Algal Blooms (Red and Brown Tides) Over the Past Decadehttp://www.redtide.whoi.edu/hab/HABdistribution/HABmap.html#U.S.%20Decadal%20Maps

6. Changes in Incidence of Marine Algal Toxin Occurrenceshttp://www.redtide.whoi.edu/hab/HABdistribution/HABmap.html#U.S.%20Decadal%20Maps

7. Changes in Incidence of Marine Algal Toxin Occurrences 25 Years Laterhttp://www.redtide.whoi.edu/hab/HABdistribution/HABmap.html#U.S.%20Decadal%20Maps

8. Headlines on HABs from Marine Habitats • “Sea lion deaths linked to toxic algae bloom”(AP) –” The deaths of more than 400 California sea lions in 1998 have been traced to toxic algae that literally caused their brain cells to explode.” Source: http://www.canoe.ca/AllAboutCanoesNewsJan00/000105_alg.html • “UC SANTA CRUZ RESEARCHERS TRACE TOXINS FROM ALGAL BLOOMS THROUGH THE MARINE FOOD WEB IN MONTEREY BAY” Source: http://www.ucsc.edu/news_events/press_releases/archive/00-01/01-01/toxins.html • “CONSUMERS ADVISED NOT TO EAT SPORT-HARVESTED SHELLFISH, CRAB, SARDINES AND ANCHOVIES FROM MONTEREY BAY “ Source: http://www.wa.gov/wdfw/fish/shelfish/razorclm/domacid.htm

9. Moving to Freshwater Habitats and Things that Grab Your Attention • “Thousands of Fish Are Dying in Texas Lakes” (WFAA.com, Dallas/Forth Worth) • “Ingestion of the toxic material was implicated in the death of a pet dog and the illness of children who swam in the lake.” (Bernadette Rae Kenworthy, 2000. Master’s Thesis, U. Washington) • Alligator killer- Cylindrospermopsis, a blue-green alga (Visual Contrast Sensitivity Test Center)

10. Other Things that Grab Your Attention in Freshwater Habitats • Lesser Flamingoes Deaths in Lake Bogoria(Kenya Wildlife Service) • Liver Failure with Death after Exposure to Microcystins at a Hemodialysis Center in Brazil. Jochimsen et al. (Brazil and CDC) NEJM 338:873-878, 1998. • Water with toxic bluegreen algae suspected in high rate of liver cancer at locations in China Ueno, et al. 1996. Detection of microcystins ….inChina ….Carcinogenesis 17:1317-1321 http://biology.wright.edu/faculty/carmichael/research-r.htm

11. No Swimming due to Toxic Algal Bloom of Blue-Green Algae With permission, Chris Foxall, U. East Angilia, UK http://www.jei.uea.ac.uk/projects/waste_4.htm

12. Appearance of Blue-green Algal Bloom in Minnesota lake(with permission of Will Munson and the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency http://www.pca.state.mn.us/water/clmp-toxicalgae.html

13. And Closer to Home • The algal blooms (Aphanizomenon) were responsible for early morning oxygen sags, which in turn led to partial kills of the largemouth bass and bluegill populations.http://www.epa.gov/OWOW/lakes/clnlake.html • “539 (80 percent of water treatment facility samples that were submitted for testing) were positive for microcystins when tested by immunoassay.”http://www.awwarf.com/exsums/256.htm” • “Microcystis, a blue-green algae that is harmful to humans and deadly to plants and fish, has returned to a small area of western Lake Erie after a 10-year absence.http://www.enn.com/enn-news-archive/1999/06/060399/microcystis_3534.asp

14. Incidences of Toxic Cyanobacteria and Microcystin in Freshwater (compiled by Kotak, 1991; Yoo et al., 1995; Johnson, unpublished, Carmichael, AWWA Research News, Project No. 256) • Countries- 42 (Worldwide) • Canada- 6 provinces • United States- 32 states • 80% of samples from utility waters in US contained microcystin, a hepatotoxin

15. Understanding the AlgaeBasic Colors (Natural Groups) Golden Browns Blue-greens Diatoms Dinoflagellates

16. Brief Synopsis of Blue-green Algae

17. Known and Suspected Toxic Blue-Green Algae • Anacystis • Anabaena circinalis • Anabaena spp. • Anabaenopsis • Aphanizomenon sp. • Nodularia spumigena • Cylindrospermopsis raciborskii • Hapalosiphon • Lyngbya • Microcystis spp. • Nodularia • Nostoc • Phormidium • Planktothrix • Schizothrix • Trichdesmium • Umezakia

18. Brief Synopsis of Golden Brown Algae • Most harmful forms are flagellates • Forms may be unicellular or colonial • Many are covered with calcareous scales • Golden brown due to xanthophylls and chlorophyll • Some are very small, 2-5 microns in diameter

19. Known and Suspected ToxicGolden Brown Algae • Aureococcus anophagefferens • Pyrmnesium parvum • Aureoumbra lagunensis

20. Brief Synopsis of Dinoflagellates • Most are unicellular, few colonial • About half are heterotrophic, others are photosynthetic • Pigments are peridinin, other xanthophylls and chlorophyll • Most have lateral “groove” • Most are flagellate • Most have eyespot http://www.bigelow.org/hab/cause.html http://redtide.net/cp.htm http://www.mote.org/%7Epederson/gbreve3.jpgand Phytoplankton Ecology Program at North Carolina State University. We borrowed the image from them courtesy of Dr.Dan Kamykowski.

21. Known and Suspected ToxicDinoflagellates • Pyrodinium bahamense • Pfiesteria piscicida • P. shumwayae • Prorocentrum minimum • Alexandrium (Gonyaulax) tamarense • A. catenella • Amphidinium carterae • Dinophysis acuta • D. acuminata • D. norvegica • Cochlodinium polydridoides • Gambierdiscus toxicus • Gyrodinium estuariale • Gymnodinium • Karenia brevisulcata • Karenia brevis (Gymnodinium)

22. Brief Synopsis of Diatoms • House of two pieces of overlapping glass • Pores, slots, openings through frustule allow gases, nutrients, exudates to move • Pigments are fucoxanthin and chlorophyll • Forms are unicellular, colonial, or filamentous • Some are motile by use of material movement in slot(s)

23. Known and Suspected Harmful and/or ToxicDiatoms • Chaetoceros convolutus • C. concavicornis • C. danica • Pseudo-nitzschia australis • P. multiseries • P. pungens

24. Brief Synopsis of the Raphiophytes • Unicellular with no walls • Biflagellate with apical insertion • Large, 50-100 u, flattened • Photosynthetic with chlorophyll, b-carotene and fucoxanthin • Trichocysts • Both freshwater and marine Chatonella sp. With permission of Mats Kuylenstierna http://www.marbot.gu.se/sss/others/Chattonella_sp.htm

25. Known and Suspected ToxicRaphidiophyte • Chattonella veruculosahttp://www.dnr.state.md.us/bay/hab/chattonella.html • Chattonella sp. “Great amount of human made nitrate from the south part of the North Sea has probably stimulated the algae bloom.” Bloom responsible for fish kills in fish farms. http://www.utas.edu.au/docs/plant_science/HAB2000/poster_abstracts/docs/Aure_Jan.html • Heterosigma akashiwo • Fibrocapsa japonica http://www.utas.edu.au/docs/plant_science/HAB2000/abstracts/docs/Tyrrell_John_V.html

26. Acryonyms Used in Conjunction with Algal Toxins • HABs- Harmful Algal Blooms • NSP- Neurotoxic Shellfish Poisoning • PSP- Paralytic Shellfish Poisoning • ASP- Amnesic Shellfish Poisoning • CTX- Ciguatera Toxins • HWP- Hepatotoxic Water Poisoning • PWP- Paralytic Water Poisoning

27. Understanding the Main Toxins of Algae Involved in HABs • Neurotoxins: anatoxin-a, saxitoxins • Hepatotoxins: cylindrospermopsin, microcystins, nodularins

28. Anabaena Anabaenopsis Aphanizomenon Cylindrospermopsis Lyngbya Microsystis Nodularia Phormidium Planktothrix Anatoxins, Microcystins Microsystins Saxitoxins Cylindrospermopsins Aplysiatoxins Microcystins Nodularin Anatoxin Microcystins, Saxitoxins Some of the Blue-green Algal Genera and Their Toxins (Not all species in a genus produce toxins.)http://lurac.latrobe.edu.au/~botbml/cyanotox.htmlhttp://lurac.latrobe.edu.au/~botbml/cyanos.html Algal Genus Toxins

29. Cyanobacterial HABs and Human Health • Blue-green Microcystis and human health http://www.science.org.au/nova/017/017box03.htm • Toxic Cyanoprokaryotes in resource waters: monitoring their occurrence and toxin detection http://www.eawag.ch/publications_e/proceedings/oecd/proceedings/Bouaich.pdf

30. Some Dinoflagellates and Their Toxins • Gymnodinium catenatum- PSP (Mackenzie and Beauchamp, http://www.cawthron.org.nz/Assets/Gcat.pdf • Alexandrium- PSP • Pyrodinium- PSP • Dinophysis- DSP • Prorocentrum- DSP • Gambierdiscus- CTX

31. Extent of Most Widespread Algal Toxin, PSP * • With permission of Dr. F. M. Van Dolah http://www.chbr.noaa.gov/CoastalResearch/DiversityEssay.htm

32. Incidence of ASP in North America* • *With permission of Dr. F. M. Van Dolah http://www.chbr.noaa.gov/CoastalResearch/DiversityEssay.htm

33. Limited Occurrence of Dinoflagellate Neurotoxin (NSP) due to Karenia (Gymnodinium) breve* *With permission of Dr. F. M. Van Dolah http://www.chbr.noaa.gov/CoastalResearch/DiversityEssay.htm

34. Incidence of DSP* *With permission of Dr. F. M. Van Dolah http://www.chbr.noaa.gov/CoastalResearch/DiversityEssay.htm

35. Incidence of Ciguatera toxin* *With permission of Dr. F. M. Van Dolah http://www.chbr.noaa.gov/CoastalResearch/DiversityEssay.htm

36. HABs and Bird HealthSource: Field Manual of Wildlife Diseases, General Field Procedures- http://www.nwhc.usgs.gov • Domoic acid- death in brown pelicans, Brandt’s cormorants • Brevetoxin- suspected in death of lesser scaup • Saxatoxin- suspected in death of common terns, herring gulls, Pacific loons, and others • “Toxicosis”- suspected in free ranging ducks, geese, eared grebes, gulls, songbirds

37. Some Algal Toxins and Their Effects • Nervous system- anatoxins brevetoxin, domoic acid, saxatoxin • Liver damage- nodularin, microcystins, aphanotoxins, cylindrospermopsin • Necroses- unnamed “bioactive substance” from Pfiesteria • Suffication from gill clogging • Cell surface interaction preventing egg development

38. Coincidence and Correlation “Over the past three decades, the frequency and global distribution of toxic algal incidents appear to have increased, and human intoxications from novel algal sources have occurred. This increase is of particular concern, since it parallels recent evidence of large-scale ecologic disturbances that coincide with trends in global warming.” Marine Algal Toxins: Origins,Health Effects, and Their Increased Occurrence by Frances M. Van Dolah Marine Biotoxins Program, NOAA National Ocean Service, Center for Coastal Environmental Health and Biomolecular Research, Charleston, South Carolina USA

39. Concentrations of N and P in Rural Runoff in the Midwestern U.S.from Novotny and Olem (1994)

40. Trends in Eutrophication of Aquatic SystemsNovotny, V. and H. Olem. 1994. Water Quality Prevention, Identification, and Management of Diffuse Pollution. VanNostrand Reinhold

41. Trends in Eutrophication of Aquatic SystemsNovotny, V. and H. Olem. 1994. Water Quality Prevention, Identification, and Management of Diffuse Pollution. VanNostrand Reinhold

42. Causative Factors in Bloom Formations: Elser (1999) in “Freshwater Biology” • Excess phosphorus (P) • General eutrophic conditions • Low N:P ratio • Favorable light (bright), water conditions (calm) • Daphnia (a zooplankter) dominance (there are exceptions) reducing competitors

43. N:P Ratios and their Significance • N:P ratios less than 10:1 have been shown to favor dominance of heterocystous blue-green algae • Significance of heterocyst in blue-greens as site of Nitrogen fixation

44. Biological Conditions that may Increase HABs • Invasion of exotic animals • Zebra mussels in Lake Erie • Daphnia lumholtzi • Shift in zooplankton grazers • Algal products may reduce feeding by grazers http://aquaticpath.umd.edu/toxalg/btb.html • Ability to survive enhanced UVBR by Alexandrium and Aureoumbra http://safari.gu.se/pages/925.html

45. Other Causative Factors • Fertilizer runoff • Livestock wastes • Bright sun • Calm waters • Change in zooplanktonic grazers (Buskey, et al. 1997)

46. Preventative Measures for Toxins and Toxic Forming Algae • Toxin- granulate activated charcoal (GAC) • Toxin- powered activated charcoal (PAC) • Algae- CuSO4, KMnO4 Above from Karner, et al (2001) in JAWWA • Algae- Virus application http://www.sb-roscoff.fr/Phyto/Presse/Nature_Feb02.pdf

47. Dinophysis acuta http://www4.fimr.fi/algaline/sheets/sheetman/dinoaut.htm With permission of http://museum.gov.ns.ca/poison/redtide.htm Prorocentrum minimum http://www.dnr.state.md.us/bay /monitoring/phyto/prorocentrum.html

48. Gymnodinum catenatum, colony and resting cyst With permission of F. Hoe Changhttp://www.niwa.cri.nz/pubs/bu/02/blooms.htm

49. Problems in Missouri • Lack of equipment to routinely do algal assessment in water treatment facilties • Insufficient time allocated for water monitoring by treatment plant operators • In some locations failure to recognize the interests and abilities of treatment plant operators to provide proper monitoring as they see the need

50. Solutions in Missouri and Elsewhere: Enhanced Monitoring at a Basic Level • Distribution of surplus microscopes to water treatment facilities lacking such equipment • Provision of Secchi disks or other means to monitor turbidity of water prior to entry into plant • Periodic algal assessment of domestic surface water supplies throughout Missouri on a priority basis • Early treatment of reservoir to reduce potential for algal blooms