PSP toxin levels and plankton community composition and abundance in size-fractionated vertical profiles during spring/summer blooms of the toxic dinoflagellate Alexandrium fundyense in the Gulf of Maine and on Georges Bank, 2007, 2008, and 2010: 2. Plankton community composition and abundance

Overview
TitlePSP toxin levels and plankton community composition and abundance in size-fractionated vertical profiles during spring/summer blooms of the toxic dinoflagellate Alexandrium fundyense in the Gulf of Maine and on Georges Bank, 2007, 2008, and 2010: 2. Plankton community composition and abundance
AuthorsPetitpas CM, Turner JT, Deeds JR, Keafer BA, McGillicuddy DJ, Milligan PJ, Shue V, White KD, Anderson DM
TypeJournal Article
Journal NameDeep-sea research. Part II, Topical studies in oceanography
Volume103
IssueN/A
Year2014
Page(s)350-367
CitationPetitpas CM, Turner JT, Deeds JR, Keafer BA, McGillicuddy DJ, Milligan PJ, Shue V, White KD, Anderson DM. PSP toxin levels and plankton community composition and abundance in size-fractionated vertical profiles during spring/summer blooms of the toxic dinoflagellate Alexandrium fundyense in the Gulf of Maine and on Georges Bank, 2007, 2008, and 2010: 2. Plankton community composition and abundance. Deep-sea research. Part II, Topical studies in oceanography. 2014 May; 103:350-367.

Abstract

As part of the Gulf of Maine Toxicity (GOMTOX) project, we determined Alexandrium fundyense abundance, paralytic shellfish poisoning (PSP) toxin levels in various plankton size fractions, and the community composition of potential grazers of A. fundyense in plankton size fractions during blooms of this toxic dinoflagellate in the coastal Gulf of Maine and on Georges Bank in spring and summer of 2007, 2008, and 2010. PSP toxins and A. fundyense cells were found throughout the sampled water column (down to 50 m) in the 20-64 μm size fractions. While PSP toxins were widespread throughout all size classes of the zooplankton grazing community, the majority of the toxin was measured in the 20-64 μm size fraction. A. fundyense cellular toxin content estimated from field samples was significantly higher in the coastal Gulf of Maine than on Georges Bank. Most samples containing PSP toxins in the present study had diverse assemblages of grazers. However, some samples clearly suggested PSP toxin accumulation in several different grazer taxa including tintinnids, heterotrophic dinoflagellates of the genus Protoperidinium, barnacle nauplii, the harpacticoid copepod Microsetella norvegica, the calanoid copepods Calanus finmarchicus and Pseudocalanus spp., the marine cladoceran Evadne nordmanni, and hydroids of the genus Clytia. Thus, a diverse assemblage of zooplankton grazers accumulated PSP toxins through food-web interactions. This raises the question of whether PSP toxins pose a potential human health risk not only from nearshore bivalve shellfish, but also potentially from fish and other upper-level consumers in zooplankton-based pelagic food webs.

Properties
Additional details for this publication include:
Property NameValue
Publication ModelPrint
ISSN0967-0645
pISSN0967-0645
Publication Date2014 May
Journal AbbreviationDeep Sea Res. Part II Top. Stud. Oceanogr.
LanguageEnglish
Language AbbrENG
Publication TypeJournal Article
Cross References
This publication is also available in the following databases:
DatabaseAccession
PMID: PMID:26236112