Expansion of harmful brown tides caused by the pelagophyte, Aureoumbra lagunensis DeYoe et Stockwell, to the US east coast

A Novel Immunofluorescence Flow Cytometry Technique Detects the Expansion of Brown Tides Caused by Aureoumbra lagunensis to the Caribbean Sea

“…1), was shipped to the United States, preserved with 1% glutaraldehyde, and treated with antibodies specific to A. anophagefferens (19,24,27) and A. lagunensis (this study) in order to quickly identify the causative organism. As further verification, bloom water was pelleted and frozen, and a culture was established and preserved for molecular analysis as described previously by Gobler et al (15). Culture isolates were obtained by serially diluting bloom water into polystyrene cell culture plates containing GSe culture medium (21), and an antibiotic-antimycotic solution (Mediatech, Inc., Herndon, VA) was added at a 1% concentration (final concentrations of 100 IU ml Ϫ1 penicillin, 100 g ml Ϫ1 streptomycin, and 0.25 g ml Ϫ1 amphotericin B) to ensure that cultures remained free of bacteria and fungi.…”

“…In contrast, blooms of A. lagunensis had been confined to Laguna Madre and Baffin Bay in Texas for Ͼ20 years (12)(13)(14). However, in 2012, the Indian River Lagoon (IRL) on Florida's East Coast experienced an intense brown tide bloom, resulting in a 20-fold increase of phytoplankton biomass over historical means (15). Genetically identified as A. lagunensis, this bloom persisted for several months and represented a noteworthy expansion of this alga to the East Coast of the United States (15).…”

“…However, in 2012, the Indian River Lagoon (IRL) on Florida's East Coast experienced an intense brown tide bloom, resulting in a 20-fold increase of phytoplankton biomass over historical means (15). Genetically identified as A. lagunensis, this bloom persisted for several months and represented a noteworthy expansion of this alga to the East Coast of the United States (15). Negative ecosystem impacts associated with the brown tides in Florida included widespread mortality of finfish and cultured and native shellfish populations (15) as well as a Ͼ60% loss of sea grass coverage in the affected area (L. Morris, St. Johns River Water Management District [SJRWMD], personal communication).…”

“…Genetically identified as A. lagunensis, this bloom persisted for several months and represented a noteworthy expansion of this alga to the East Coast of the United States (15). Negative ecosystem impacts associated with the brown tides in Florida included widespread mortality of finfish and cultured and native shellfish populations (15) as well as a Ͼ60% loss of sea grass coverage in the affected area (L. Morris, St. Johns River Water Management District [SJRWMD], personal communication). The economic costs associated with the loss of seagrass-based commercial and recreational fisheries have been estimated to be $237 million to $470 million (Ed Garland, IRL National Estuary Program, personal communication).…”

“…The economic costs associated with the loss of seagrass-based commercial and recreational fisheries have been estimated to be $237 million to $470 million (Ed Garland, IRL National Estuary Program, personal communication). Analyses of environmental data suggested that anomalously high salinities, low nitrate concentrations, and elevated levels of dissolved organic nitrogen (DON) may have contributed to the occurrence of the A. lagunensis bloom in 2012 (15). Although the initial brown tide in Florida ended in October 2012 (15), brown tides in Texas have been known to persist for up to seven consecutive years (16).…”