Ocean warming since 1982 has expanded the niche of toxic algal blooms in the North Atlantic and North Pacific oceans

Gobler, Christopher J.; Doherty, Owen M.; Hattenrath-Lehmann, Theresa K.; Griffith, Andrew W.; Kang, Yoonja; Litaker, R. Wayne

doi:10.1073/pnas.1619575114

i

Ocean warming since 1982 has expanded the niche of toxic algal blooms in the North Atlantic and North Pacific oceans

2017
By Gobler, Christopher J. ; Doherty, Owen M. ; Hattenrath-Lehmann, Theresa K. ; ...

Details

Journal Title:

Proceedings of the National Academy of Science of the United States
Personal Author:

Gobler, Christopher J. ; Doherty, Owen M. ; Hattenrath-Lehmann, Theresa K. ; Griffith, Andrew W. ; Kang, Yoonja ; Litaker, R. Wayne
NOAA Program & Office:

NOS (National Ocean Service) ; NCCOS (National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science)
Description:

Global ocean temperatures are rising, yet the impacts of such changes on harmful algal blooms (HABs) are not fully understood. Here we used high-resolution sea-surface temperature records (1982 to 2016) and temperature-dependent growth rates of two algae that produce potent biotoxins, Alexandrium fundyense and Dinophysis acuminata, to evaluate recent changes in these HABs. For both species, potential mean annual growth rates and duration of bloom seasons significantly increased within many coastal Atlantic regions between 40 degrees N and 60 degrees N, where incidents of these HABs have emerged and expanded in recent decades. Widespread trends were less evident across the North Pacific, although regions were identified across the Salish Sea and along the Alaskan coastline where blooms have recently emerged, and there have been significant increases in the potential growth rates and duration of these HAB events. We conclude that increasing ocean temperature is an important factor facilitating the intensification of these, and likely other, HABs and thus contributes to an expanding human health threat.
Source:

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 114(19), 4975-4980.
DOI:

https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1619575114
Document Type:

Journal Article
Funding:

Grant no. NA11NOS4780027 ; Grant no. NA15NOS4780183
Rights Information:

Other
Compliance:

Submitted
Main Document Checksum:

urn:sha256:e8c5c54fa5173c064f768a6aa5b61bbd1690e96f2dde03b5865a4c853ad5ba01
Download URL:

https://repository.library.noaa.gov/view/noaa/20872/noaa_20872_DS1.pdf
File Type:

[PDF - 1.34 MB ]

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