Origins ofKarenia brevisharmful algal blooms along the Texas coast Academic Article uri icon

abstract

  • Lay AbstractHarmful algal blooms (HABs) in the Gulf of Mexico are primarily caused by the dinoflagellate species Karenia brevis. During blooms, toxins produced by K. brevis are concentrated by suspensionfeeding shellfish, which, if consumed by humans, can cause neurotoxic shellfish poisoning, and can lead to fish kills. A complication in understanding the underlying cause of the blooms is that the observed rate of growth of the bloom is too high to be explained by algal growth alone. Additionally, blooms occur sporadically in Texas waters, compared with more predictable blooms on the western Florida continental shelf. This study proposes a series of physical mechanisms to explain the interannual variability of bloom occurrences. Wind data along the coast are weaker on average in years in which HAB events occur. We propose that typical northward summer winds bring higher concentrations of cells from the southern Gulf of Mexico and then these cells are transported toward the Texas coastline by the southwestward fall winds. Strong winds wash out the accumulating cells, whereas weaker winds allow algal cells to aggregate.

published proceedings

  • Limnology & Oceanography Fluids & Environments

altmetric score

  • 3

author list (cited authors)

  • Thyng, K. M., Hetland, R. D., Ogle, M. T., Zhang, X., Chen, F., & Campbell, L.

citation count

  • 21

complete list of authors

  • Thyng, Kristen M||Hetland, Robert D||Ogle, Marcus T||Zhang, Xiaoqian||Chen, Fei||Campbell, Lisa

publication date

  • February 2013

publisher