Macroalgal palatability and the flux of ciguatera toxins through marine food webs

Chemical Defenses: From Compounds to Communities

“…Cruz- Rivera and Villareal (2006) suggested that the palatability of macroalgae that are epiphytized by the ciguatoxin-producing dinoflagellate Gambierdiscus toxicus influences the flux of toxins entering marine food webs. They hypothesize that where dinoflagellates are located on rapidly consumed algae, even at low densities, large amounts of toxin might be consumed by herbivores, whereas dinoflagellates on ubiquitous but unpalatable algae would contribute little to the flux of toxins in marine food chains.…”

Seasonal changes of benthic and epiphytic dinoflagellates in the Veracruz reef zone, Gulf of Mexico

“…In Queensland, Australia, periodicity in the G. toxicus abundance does not seem to be related directly to temperature, and complex substrate interactions and other unknown factors appear to be involved (Gillespie et al 1985). Summing up, seasonality of G. toxicus is observed sometimes, but not always, and the underlying factors that control population increases of this species remain unknown (Cruz-Rivera & Villareal 2006). In the NW Mediterranean, no significant correlations were observed between epiphytic dinoflagellates and water temperature or nutrients; however, the epiphytic dinoflagellate assemblage demonstrated a clear seasonality (Vila et al 2001 Regarding the relationship of the benthic/epiphytic dinoflagellate abundance and winds, only a few observations are available.…”

“…In addition, macroalgal surface area and ash content appear to be regulating factors of dinoflagellate population density . Depending on the geographic region, Gambierdiscus toxicus has been shown to prefer different macroalgal host species and has been found with more than 50 algal genera (Shimizu et al 1982, Carlson & Tindall 1985, Lobel et al 1988, Cruz-Rivera & Villareal 2006.…”

Benthic Herbivores are not Deterred by Brevetoxins Produced by the Red Tide Dinoflagellate Karenia Brevis

“…188; see also Hay and Kubanek 2002;Cruz-Rivera and Villareal 2006). We propose that mesograzers and other benthic herbivores may represent an underexplored set of pathways by which brevetoxins produced by Gulf of Mexico K. brevis red tide blooms are transmitted vertically through estuarine food webs.…”