Interannual variability of shellfish toxicity in the Gulf of Maine: Time and space patterns and links to environmental variability

Thomas, Andrew C.; Weatherbee, Ryan; Xue, Huijie; Liu, Guimei

doi:10.1016/j.hal.2010.03.002

Cited by 19 publications

(31 citation statements)

References 51 publications

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“…Although scientific studies have used different approaches, from the molecular biology of toxin metabolism to the effects of climate changes (e.g., Grané li and Turner, 2006), the current understanding of the biogeography and ecology of key species has come mainly from monitoring and research programs to comprehensively evaluate the role of physical, chemical and biological variables in the proliferation of harmful algae and their outbreak events (e.g., Cembella et al, 2010;Thomas et al, 2010). Among Alexandrium species, a special concern has been to evaluate their biogeography John et al, 2003;Lundholm and Moestrop, 2006) and taxonomic diversity .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Intraregional variation among Alexandrium catenella (Dinophyceae) strains from southern Chile: Morphological, toxicological and genetic diversity

et al. 2012

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Intraregional variation among Alexandrium catenella (Dinophyceae) strains from southern Chile: Morphological, toxicological and genetic diversity

et al. 2012

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“…Notwithstanding, their frequency, intensity and geographic distribution has increased over the years, and several reasons have been pointing out by different authors. The variations in upwelling, unusual climatic conditions, seawater temperature and salinity, as well as concentration of dissolved nutrients are some of the reasons pointed out by several authors for the occurrence of HAB [28][29][30][31][32][33].…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The phycotoxins׳ impact on the revenue of the Portuguese artisanal dredge fleet

2015

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“…One approach to this type of retrospective analysis is that of Thomas et al (2010) who used multivariate techniques to cluster monitoring stations along the GOM coast into multiple station groups that behaved in a similar manner with respect to each of several metrics of toxicity. Each metric yielded a different set of stations that grouped together, and each set of station groups could then be analyzed against environmental parameters to look for causative factors for the toxicity trends.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…1) marks a boundary between a region to the west that exhibits toxicity relatively early in the season compared to areas in eastern Maine and the BOF (Hurst and Yentsch, 1981; Shumway et al, 1988; Bean et al, 2005; Luerssen et al, 2005; Thomas et al, 2010). Both Thomas et al (2010) and Nair et al (2013) used statistical approaches to identify multiple station clusters in the GOM that group together and are generally in close geographic proximity. These workers conclude that many of the factors that drive toxicity patterns in the GOM are regional with a separation near Penobscot Bay, consistent with our western and eastern Maine subregions.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Since 1972, PSP toxicity has been a recurrent problem throughout the region, including western gulf waters, and is responsible for widespread shellfish harvesting closures and significant economic losses virtually every year (Shumway et al, 1988; Jin et al, 2008). Since the major 1972 outbreak, annual toxicity has varied extensively within the region, both in geographic extent and magnitude (McGillicuddy et al, 2005b, 2011; Luerssen et al, 2005; Thomas et al, 2010; Horecka et al, this issue; Kleindinst et al, this issue).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Understanding interannual, decadal level variability in paralytic shellfish poisoning toxicity in the Gulf of Maine: The HAB Index

Anderson

Couture

Kleindinst

et al. 2014

Deep Sea Research Part II: Topical Studies in Oceanography

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A major goal in harmful algal bloom (HAB) research has been to identify mechanisms underlying interannual variability in bloom magnitude and impact. Here the focus is on variability in Alexandrium fundyense blooms and paralytic shellfish poisoning (PSP) toxicity in Maine, USA, over 34 years (1978 – 2011). The Maine coastline was divided into two regions -eastern and western Maine, and within those two regions, three measures of PSP toxicity (the percent of stations showing detectable toxicity over the year, the cumulative amount of toxicity per station measured in all shellfish (mussel) samples during that year, and the duration of measurable toxicity) were examined for each year in the time series. These metrics were combined into a simple HAB Index that provides a single measure of annual toxin severity across each region. The three toxin metrics, as well as the HAB Index that integrates them, reveal significant variability in overall toxicity between individual years as well as long-term, decadal patterns or regimes. Based on different conceptual models of the system, we considered three trend formulations to characterize the long-term patterns in the Index – a three-phase (mean-shift) model, a linear two-phase model, and a pulse-decline model. The first represents a “regime shift” or multiple equilibria formulation as might occur with alternating periods of sustained high and low cyst abundance or favorable and unfavorable growth conditions, the second depicts a scenario of more gradual transitions in cyst abundance or growth conditions of vegetative cells, and the third characterizes a ”sawtooth” pattern in which upward shifts in toxicity are associated with major cyst recruitment events, followed by a gradual but continuous decline until the next pulse. The fitted models were compared using both residual sum of squares and Akaike's Information Criterion. There were some differences between model fits, but none consistently gave a better fit than the others. This statistical underpinning can guide efforts to identify physical and/or biological mechanisms underlying the patterns revealed by the HAB Index. Although A. fundyense cyst survey data (limited to 9 years) do not span the entire interval of the shellfish toxicity records, this analysis leads us to hypothesize that major changes in the abundance of A. fundyense cysts may be a primary factor contributing to the decadal trends in shellfish toxicity in this region. The HAB Index approach taken here is simple but represents a novel and potentially useful tool for resource managers in many areas of the world subject to toxic HABs.

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Interannual variability of shellfish toxicity in the Gulf of Maine: Time and space patterns and links to environmental variability

Cited by 19 publications

References 51 publications

Intraregional variation among Alexandrium catenella (Dinophyceae) strains from southern Chile: Morphological, toxicological and genetic diversity

Intraregional variation among Alexandrium catenella (Dinophyceae) strains from southern Chile: Morphological, toxicological and genetic diversity

The phycotoxins׳ impact on the revenue of the Portuguese artisanal dredge fleet

Understanding interannual, decadal level variability in paralytic shellfish poisoning toxicity in the Gulf of Maine: The HAB Index

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