Harmful Algal Blooms: Effect on Coastal Marine Ecosystems
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Harmful Algal Blooms: Effect on Coastal Marine Ecosystems Raquel A. F. Neves1 and Elsa T. Rodrigues2 1 Research Group of Experimental and Applied Aquatic Ecology, Federal University of the State of Rio de Janeiro (UNIRIO), Rio de Janeiro, Brazil 2 Centre for Functional Ecology (CFE), University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal
Synonyms Biological nuisances; Phytoplankton blooms; Red tide events; Spring blooms
Definition Marine harmful algal blooms (HABs) refer to the rapid proliferation and/or high biomass accumulation of toxic or otherwise noxious algae at the surface sea, water column, and benthic systems that cause harm on marine organisms and ecosystems due to toxin production and/or hypoxia induction, as well as to the way in which the algal cell structure physically affects the co-occurring organisms (Glibert et al. 2018a). However, even low cell abundances of highly toxic species may cause damages on marine life, ecosystems, and human health (Chinain et al. 1999). Marine HABs are diverse in terms of causative organisms,
which are usually cyanobacteria and planktonic or benthic microalgae, although the term may also be applied to harmful blooms of macroalgae (Glibert et al. 2018a). Many coastal marine ecosystems throughout the world have been affected by HABs over the last decades (Hallegraeff 2010), but HABs may also affect open oceans as well as brackish systems (Anderson et al. 2012). More recently, the number of harmful blooms and toxic species in marine systems and, consequently, the economic losses and the types of resources affected have increased (Anderson 2009). Human activities have implications in some of this expansion by transporting toxic species in ballast water (Butrón et al. 2011), and by adding massive and increasing quantities of industrial, agricultural, and sewage effluents to coastal waters that created a favorable nutrient environment for certain HAB species (Heisler et al. 2008). The conservation and sustainable use of the oceans, seas, and marine resources (Sustainable Development Goal 14) can contribute to reduce the frequency and distribution of marine HABs and their impacts on public health, tourism, fishery, and marine ecosystems worldwide.
Introduction Ecological Aspects Harmful organisms comprise photosynthetic species (e.g., cyanobacteria, Chaetoceros spp.) and
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Harmful Algal Blooms: Effect on Coastal Marine Ecosystems
facultative (e.g., Dinophysis spp., Heterocapsa spp.) or obligate heterotrophs (e.g., Polykrikos spp., Protoperidinium spp.) (Flynn et al. 2018). Heterotrophic organisms do not depend on photosynthesis for nutrition, the process in which light energy is converted into chemical energy. They can obtain nutrition through grazing, and many of them are able to mix photosynthesis with grazing (mixotrophy), depending on environmental conditions (Flynn et al. 2018). Most HABs are for
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