Effects of temperature and salinity on the growth of Alexandrium (Dinophyceae) isolates from the Salish Sea.

ABSTRACT: Toxin-producing blooms of dinoflagellates in the genus Alexandrium have plagued the inhabitants of the Salish Sea for centuries. Yet the environmental conditions that promote accelerated growth of this organism, a producer of paralytic shellfish toxins, is lacking. This study quantitatively determined the growth response of two Alexandrium isolates to a range of temperatures and salinities, factors that will strongly respond to future climate change scenarios. An empirical equation, derived from observed growth rates describing the temperature and salinity dependence of growth, was used to hindcast bloom risk. Hindcasting was achieved by comparing predicted growth rates, calculated from in situ temperature and salinity data from Quartermaster Harbor, with corresponding Alexandrium cell cou

SUBMITTER: Bill BD 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4818979 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature