Aquatic Sciences Meeting, Albuquerque 2001

CS15 Harmful Algal Blooms

Date: Tuesday, February 13, 2001, Time: 10:15:00 AM

Location: Cochiti/Taos

Popels, L, C, University of Delaware, Lewes, USA, lcpope@udel.edu

Hutchins, D, A, University of Delaware, Lewes, USA, dahutch@udel.edu

THE POTENTIAL FOR ANTHROPOGENIC TRANSPORT OF THE BROWN TIDE ORGANISM, AUREOCOCCUS ANOPHAGEFFERENS

Aureococcus anophagefferens is a pelagophyte that is responsible for the harmful brown tides that have affected New Jersey, Rhode Island and New York. The known range of A. anophagefferens has increased since the 1990 survey (Anderson et al.), with the organisms now found as far south as Maryland and Delaware. A. anophagefferens has also caused blooms in Saldanha Bay in South Africa beginning in 1997 (South African Marine and Coastal Management, 1998/1999). The geographical distribution of A. anophagefferens appears to be increasing. Two possible ways that the brown tide could be introduced to new areas are anthropogenic transport of the organism in ballast water or water retained in recreational boats. Experiments were conducted to determine the potential for A. anophagefferens to survive conditions similar to those that may be experienced in ship ballast tanks. Cultured brown tide was able to survive for at least 30 days in the dark when stored at 12 C. Temperature may play a role in survival of brown tide in the dark, as cultures recovered fastest when stored at 12 C. We are investigating the influence of environmental factors like temperature, salinity and presence of inorganic or organic nutrients on how long A. anophagefferens can survive in the dark.

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Aquatic Sciences Meeting, Albuquerque 2001

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