Bloom of Peridinium quinquecorne abé in la Ensenada de la Paz, Gulf of California (july 2003)

Abstract

Microalgae blooms are frequent and periodic throughout the year in La Ensenada de La Paz, a lagoon formed by a large sand bar enclosed at the southern end of the Bahía de La Paz in the southwestern Gulf of California. Brown patches of the dinoflagellate Peridinium quinquecorne Abé, an armored dinoflagellate that is cosmopolitan in neritic and estuarine waters, were observed in July 2003 near a beach at the mouth of the lagoon. The patches were about 50-100 m long by 10-15 m wide and persisted for two days when water temperature was 26.2 to 27 °C. The blooms occurred after four days of a heavy rain. Abundance of P. quinquecorne varied from 3.4 to 6.4 × 10 6 cells l -1 and chlorophyll a varied from 13.20 to 17.75 mg m -3. Concentrations of nutrients in this area were higher than normal, related to a continuous re-suspension of sediment caused by wave action. The higher nutrient content promoted formation of patches of P. quinquecorne in this part of the lagoon.

The first recorded bloom of <i>Protoperidinium quinquecorne</i> and its link to a massive fish kill in Yemeni coastal waters, Southern Red Sea

“…The P. quinquecorne bloom observed during the present study occurred when air temperature was rather high (35°C) and water temperature had reached 34°C. Similar to our findings, Gárate-Lizárraga et al (2006) and Gárate-Lizárraga and Muñetón-Gómez (2008) reported frequent blooms in Bahía de La Paz, Baja California Sur, between May and July. Faust et al (2005) identified P. quinquecorne in floating detritus at Douglas Cay and the Lair in Belize also forming red tides.…”

“…The numerous chloroplasts were small and yellow-greenish. In general, the dimensions of P. quinquecorne reported from Yemeni coastal waters were similar to those recorded by Gárate-Lizárraga & Muñetón-Gómez (2008). The number of spines, four in specimens found in the Yemeni coastal waters is similar to the typical four of P. quinquecorne (Abé 1927, Horiguchi & Piennar 1991, but different from those specimens collected by Aké-Castillo and Vázquez (2011) from the Sontecomapan lagoon, Mexico, which described P. quinquercone with three spines.…”

“…Faust et al (2005) identified P. quinquecorne in floating detritus at Douglas Cay and the Lair in Belize also forming red tides. On the other hand, many studies have reported that P. quinquecorne can tolerate a wide range of salinities, growing best at relatively high salinities when they are capable of forming red tide blooms under high light and high temperature conditions (Horstmann 1980, Gárate-Lizárraga & Muñetón-Gómez 2008 To the best of our knowledge, this is the first HAB event associated with P. quinquecorne and responsible for fish kills that has been reported in Yemeni waters and, indeed, in the entire Red Sea. The presence of harmful phytoplankton species in our waters is not well documented.…”

“…Protoperidinium quinquecorne (Abé) Balech is one of the most notable species of the genus Protoperidinium and is considered a significant component of the coastal and estuarine phytoplankton, causing blooms in different regions. This species can occur in very high concentrations in coastal waters, which change colour as a result, and are sometimes associated with fish kills (Gárate-Lizárraga & Muñetón-Gómez 2008). While some phytoplankton species are known to produce toxins that can be accumulated by filter-feeding organisms, making them hazardous for humans, blooms of the other (nontoxic) species can result in high fish mortalities caused by the development of low oxygen conditions or gill clogging and damage due to mucus secretion and asphyxiation (Claereboudt et al 2001).…”

Proliferation of Amphidinium carterae (Gymnodiniales: Gymnodiniaceae) in Bahía de La Paz, Gulf of California

“…A total of 107 microalgae taxa were identified: 56 were diatoms, 46 dinoflagellates, 2 silicoflagellates, 1 raphydophyte, 1 cyanobacteria and 1 coccolithophorid. This survey revealed the presence of benthic diatoms and dinoflagellates, as well as dinoflagellate cysts in the surface water samples, which is an indicator of upwelled water generated by northwest winds (Gárate-Lizárraga & Muñetón, 2008;Gárate-Lizárraga et al, 2009a). The species list and abundance are summarized in Table 1.…”