World-wide occurrence of the toxic dinoflagellate genus Ostreopsis Schmidt

The dinoflagellate genus, Ostreopsis Schmidt, has an increasingly global distribution. It blooms in temperate to tropical coastal waters, and toxic species are present in all regions in which the genus has been recorded. The distribution has increased markedly in the last decade and associated illnesses have also increased. These trends are likely to continue. (C) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.