ECOHAB: Gulf of Maine Publication Communicates Harmful Algal Bloom (HAB) Dynamics, Informing HAB Research and Management
Results of the Center for Sponsored Coastal Ocean Research (CSCOR)-sponsored Ecology and Oceanography of Harmful Algal Blooms (ECOHAB): Gulf of Maine Project are highlighted in a special issue of Deep Sea Research Part II: Topical Studies in Oceanography titled, “The Ecology and Oceanography of Toxic Alexandrium fundyense Blooms in the Gulf of Maine.” The overall goal of ECOHAB: Gulf of Maine Project was to understand and model the dynamics of the toxic dinoflagellate Alexandrium fundyense in the Gulf of Maine by investigating the physical, biological, chemical, and behavioral mechanisms underlying population abundance and distribution in the Gulf of Maine system. Articles address the physical/chemical characteristics of the Gulf of Maine, the physiology and ecology of A. fundyense, the role Alexandrium cyst dynamics in toxic blooms, the ecology of blooms, the impacts of and to grazing organisms, and the inter-annual variability in toxicity. This publication lays the foundation for HAB forecasting and response in the Gulf of Mexico and contributes to NCCOS’s goal of conducting and communicating high quality, relevant, and timely science. This six-year project was supported by NOAA/CSCOR and the NSF. The articles can be found in Deep Sea Research Part II, Volume 52, Issues 19-21, pages 2365-2876. For more information about ECOHAB, see ECOHAB Fact Sheet.