Aquatic Sciences Meeting, Albuquerque 2001

CS15 Harmful Algal Blooms

Date: Tuesday, February 13, 2001, Time: 3:45:00 PM

Location: Cochiti/Taos

Örnólfsdóttir, E, B, Department of Oceanography, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX-77843-3146, USA, erla@ocean.tamu.edu

Pinckney, J, L, Department of Oceanography, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX-77843-3164, USA, pinckney@ocean.tamu.edu

Tester, P, A, National Ocean Service, NOAA, Center for Coastal Fisheries and Habitat Research at Beaufort, Beaufort, NC-28516, USA, Pat.Tester@noaa.gov

DETECTION AND QUANTIFICATION OF GYROXANTHIN-DIESTER FROM TEXAS RED-TIDE: QUANTIFICATION OF GYMNODINIUM BREVE USING HPLC AND CHEMTAX

Detection and quantification of phytoplankton diagnostic pigments is a widely accepted method for phytoplankton community structure analysis. In this study we use the putative gyroxanthin-diester in Gymnodinium breve Davis, to reveal the presence and relative abundance of this species in natural phytoplankton communities. The goal of this study was to define the relatinship between G. breve cell abundance and gyroxanthin-diester detection by HPLC. Furthermore, we undertook a modification of pigment ratio matrix for CHEMTAX (CHEmical TAXonomy), to facilitate community structure analysis of environmental samples in the presence of red-tide. CHEMTAX was modified by adding gyroxanthin-diester and an estimate of the other diagnostic pigment ratio of G. breve to the initial ratio matrix. The results will be discussed based on cultures and field samples collected from Galveston Bay, Texas, in early fall 2000. The diagnostic properties of this method are valuable for quantifying the relative abundance of G. breve (and other species containing gyroxanthin) in routine monitoring as well as during the early stages of bloom formation.

This Session Listing

Aquatic Sciences Meeting, Albuquerque 2001

Quicklinks