New fish-killing alga in coastal Delaware produces neurotoxins
- UNCW Author/Contributor (non-UNCW co-authors, if there are any, appear on document)
- Daniel G Baden, Director (Creator)
- Andrea J. Bourdelais, Research Associate Professor (Creator)
- Jerome Naar, Research Associate Professor (Creator)
- Carmelo R. Tomas, Associate Professor (Creator)
- Institution
- The University of North Carolina Wilmington (UNCW )
- Web Site: http://library.uncw.edu/
Abstract: Ten fish mortality events, involving primarily Atlantic menhaden, occurred from early July
through September 2000 in several bays and creeks in Delaware, USA. Two events involved large
mortalities estimated at 1–2.5 million fish in Bald Eagle Creek, Rehoboth Bay. Samples from
Indian Inlet (Bethany Beach), open to the Atlantic, as well as from an enclosed area of massive
fish kills at nearby Bald Eagle Creek and Torque Canal were collected and sent to our laboratory
for analysis. Microscopic examination of samples from the fish kill site revealed the presence of a
single-cell Raphidophyte alga Chattonella cf. verruculosa at a maximum density of 1.04 × 107
cells/L. Naturally occurring brevetoxins were also detected in the bloom samples. Besides the
Chattonella species, no other known brevetoxin-producing phytoplankton were present.
Chromatographic, immunochemical, and spectroscopic analyses confirmed the presence of brevetoxin
PbTx-2, and PbTx-3 and -9 were confirmed by chromatographic and immunochemical
analyses. This is the first confirmed report in the United States of brevetoxins associated with an
indigenous bloom in temperate Atlantic estuarine waters and of C. cf. verruculosa as a resident
toxic organism implicated in fish kills in this area. The bloom of Chattonella continued throughout
September and eventually declined in October. By the end of October C. cf. verruculosa was
no longer seen, nor was toxin measurable in the surface waters. The results affirm that to avoid
deleterious impacts on human and ecosystem health, increased monitoring is needed for brevetoxins
and organism(s) producing them, even in areas previously thought to be unaffected. Key
words: brevetoxins, Chattonella cf. verruculosa, Delaware, fish kills, harmful agal blooms. Environ
Health Perspect 110:465–470 (2002). [Online 1 April 2002]
http://ehpnet1.niehs.nih.gov/docs/2002/110p465-470bourdelais/abstract.html
New fish-killing alga in coastal Delaware produces neurotoxins
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Additional Information
- Publication
- Bourdelais, A. J., Tomas, C. R., Naar, J., Kubanek, J., & Baden, D. G. (2002). New fish-killing alga in coastal Delaware produces neurotoxins. Environmental Health Perspect 110, 465–470. Retrieved from http://ehpnet1.niehs.nih.gov/docs/2002/110p465-470bourdelais/abstract.html [Reproduced with permission from Environmental Health Perspectives]
- Language: English
- Date: 2009
- Keywords
- Algal blooms--Delaware, Fish kills--Delaware, Marine toxins--Delaware, Neurotoxic agents--Delaware
- Subjects
- Algal blooms--Delaware
- Neurotoxic agents--Delaware
- Marine toxins--Delaware
- Fish kills--Delaware