Gymnodinium breve red tide blooms: Initiation, transport, and consequences of surface circulation

Abstract

From its source waters in the Gulf of Mexico the red tide dinoflagellate, Gymnodinium breve is moved throughout its oceanic range by major currents and eddy systems.

West Florida shelf response to upwelling favorable wind forcing: Kinematics

“…Pathways of larval transport between offshore spawning and nearshore juvenile development regions require explanation. The region south of Tampa Bay is known to be a "red-tide" epicenter region [Tester and Steidinger, 1997] that may also have a basis in the circulation. Through a coordinated use of in situ data and modeling we hope to achieve a quantitative framework in which to address such material property questions.…”

An expert elicitation process to project the frequency and magnitude of Florida manatee mortality events caused by red tide (Karenia brevis)

“…Upwelling conditions (usually in the fall through spring) driven by the interaction of the Loop Current with the West Florida Shelf may influence bloom severity and extent (Liu and others, 2016). Transport from the offshore formative region-on the middle West Florida Shelf, extending north and south of the Tampa Bay region-generally occurs via onshore, southern flow of the bottom Ekman layer, which explains why most coastal blooms manifest in southwest Florida (Tester and Steidinger, 1997;Walsh and others, 2006;Steidinger, 2009;others, 2009, 2016). Coastal blooms may also manifest in the Atlantic region (for example, Tester and others, 1991;Tester and Steidinger, 1997) or the Northwest region (for example, McCulloch and others, 2013) as a result of transport by currents.…”

“…Transport from the offshore formative region-on the middle West Florida Shelf, extending north and south of the Tampa Bay region-generally occurs via onshore, southern flow of the bottom Ekman layer, which explains why most coastal blooms manifest in southwest Florida (Tester and Steidinger, 1997;Walsh and others, 2006;Steidinger, 2009;others, 2009, 2016). Coastal blooms may also manifest in the Atlantic region (for example, Tester and others, 1991;Tester and Steidinger, 1997) or the Northwest region (for example, McCulloch and others, 2013) as a result of transport by currents. According to this hypothesis, it is unlikely that a red-tide bloom in the Northwest region or the Atlantic region will occur without a prior bloom in the Southwest region.…”

“…Blooms can be transported by currents, with red tides occurring occasionally in northwest Florida, and less often being carried by the Gulf Stream to Florida's Atlantic coast (Tester and Steidinger, 1997;Steidinger and others, 1998;Steidinger, 2009). Karenia brevis produces neurotoxins (brevetoxins) which can cause human health problems (for example, neurotoxic shellfish poisoning from ingestion of toxic shellfish and respiratory irritation from inhalation of toxic aerosol) and wide-ranging effects on fish and wildlife (Steidinger, 2009).…”

Photopigment radiolabelling as a tool for determiningin situgrowth rates of the toxic dinoflagellateKarenia brevis(Dinophyceae)

“…The proliferation of this species on the west Florida shelf has brought it to the forefront of phytoplankton research in this region (Davis, 1948;Steidinger & Ingle, 1972;Roberts, 1979;Steidinger et al, 1998). Accumulations of K. brevis have also been reported along the coasts of Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana and Texas (Buskey et al, 1996;Steidinger et al, 1998;Ö rno´lfsdo´ttir et al, 2003) and the Southeastern Atlantic (Tester & Steidinger, 1997). The toxicity of K. brevis originates from the lipid-soluble brevetoxin that resides inside the cell (Nakanishi, 1985).…”