Journal
MARINE POLLUTION BULLETIN
Volume 62, Issue 11, Pages 2512-2519Publisher
PERGAMON-ELSEVIER SCIENCE LTD
DOI: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2011.08.003
Keywords
Adriatic Sea; Ostreopsis cf. ovata; Benthic dinoflagellates; HABs; Palytoxins; Nutrients
Funding
- ISPRA-Italian Ministry of the Environment
- MURST
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Intense blooms of the benthic dinoflagellate Ostreopsis cf. ovata have occurred in the northern Adriatic Sea since 2006. These blooms are associated with noxious effects on human health and with the mortality of benthic organisms because of the production of palytoxin-like compounds. The O. cf. ovata bloom and its relationships with nutrient concentrations at two stations on the Conero Riviera (northern Adriatic Sea) were investigated in the summer of 2009. O. cf. ovata developed from August to November, with the highest abundances in September (1.3 x 10(6) cells g(-1) fw corresponding to 63.8 x 10(3) cells cm(-2)). The presence of the single O. cf. ovata genotype was confirmed by a PCR assay. Bloom developed when the seawater temperature was decreasing. Nutrient concentrations did not seem to affect bloom dynamics. Toxin analysis performed by high resolution liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry revealed a high total toxin content (up to 75 pg cell(-1)), including putative palytoxin and all the ovatoxins known so far. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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