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GOMO-Funded Project

Distribution and Prevalence of Harmful Algal Blooms in Arctic Waters

  • Principal Investigator(s):
  • Fiscal Year: 2023
  • Award Period:
    10/01/2021 - 09/30/2022
  • Partners & Affiliations:
    NSF

Tracking the impact of harmful algal blooms in the Arctic

The resulting large cyst bed of Alexandrium catenalla found between cruise-collected samples is unparalleled compared to previous years, leading to the concern of warming waters and additional spreading of these organisms to different areas within and outside studied areas. Future research includes conceptual modeling and categorizing the spread of HAB taxa, as well as incorporating an Imaging Flow Cytobot (IFCB) within monitoring activities.

The Harmful Algal Bloom (HAB) Project is dedicated to examining the prevalence of different HAB species in Arctic seas using sediment and water samples collected on research cruises in the Bering, Beaufort, and Chukchi seas. Partnering collaborators were contacted to collect HAB samples from other areas on different cruises.

Vessels Information: R/V Norseman II, R/V Sikuliaq, Cruises of Opportunity (during the 2022 Bering Arctic Subarctic Integrated Survey and the Northern Bering Sea Survey)

Alaskan (2018–2020) and Gulf of Maine (2004–2012) Alexandrium catenella cyst abundance in surface sediments, depicted on the same scale (Albers Equal-Area Conic projection). Sites visited across multiple years were averaged to create these composite maps.

What Are Harmful Algal Blooms?

Due to climate change, many aquatic microorganisms are flourishing from high levels of nutrients and warmer waters, causing for algal blooms to occur more frequently in the Arctic sea. Although most species are harmless, two harmful algal bloom (HAB) species are posing large threats to human, ocean, and ecosystem health.

One is a toxic dinoflagellate called Alexandrium catenella, responsible for infecting shellfish that cause paralytic shellfish poisoning (PSP). The second is a toxic diatom called Pseudo-nitzschia, responsible for amnesic shellfish poisoning (ASP). This is concerning for Alaskan sea regions, as extremely high concentrations of dormant A. catenella have been documented in samples from the Chukchi Sea, alluding that HAB events have already begun to affect the stability of local resources.

Alexandrium catenella
Pseudo-nitzschia (Credit: NOAA)
Satellite image of Alexandrium catenalla algal bloom in the Bering Sea. Alexandrium catenella Pseudo-nitzschia Satellite image of Alexandrium catenalla algal bloom in the Bering Sea. (Credit: NASA)

Project Gallery

Ice off the bow of the USCG Healy
Collection of sediment cores for cyst processing.
The coastal town of Point Hope as seen from the R/V Norseman II as it heads north into the Chukchi Sea
Orcas are one such animal affected by harmful algal blooms
A dashboard image from the IFCB shows high concentrations of the Alexandrium (dark round cells) found in a Bering Strait water sample.
Arctic Sea sediment samples before processing
Arctic Sea sediment samples after processing
Imaging FlowCytobot on the USCG Healy ship
Alexandrium cultures in the incubator at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution Anderson Lab.

Project Data

About the Datasets

Offshore sampling for harmful algal bloom (HAB) species was conducted in two back-to-back research cruises aboard the R/V Norseman II (July 19, 2022 – August 15,  2022, 28 days and August 17, 2022 to Sept. 6, 2022, 21 days).

Along with collecting water and sediment samples, an Imaging FlowCytobot (IFCB) was configured to collect phytoplankton imagery along the cruise track. Net tows and benthic invertebrate samples were also collected to measure levels of the food web.

By the Numbers

Between both cruises, 120 sediment grabs were collected, 47 net tows were deployed, and water samples were collected across multiple depths at 191 locations. Additional sediment and water samples were collected aboard cruises of opportunity, including the 2022 Bering  Arctic Subarctic Integrated Survey (BASIS, 8/12/22 – 9/11/22) and the Northern Bering Sea  Survey (NBS, 8/27/22 – 9/20/22).

Publications and Reports

  • Anderson, D.M., E. Fachon, K. Hubbard, K.A. Lefebvre, P. Lin, R. Pickart, M. Richlen, G. Sheffield, and C. Van Hemert. 2022. Harmful algal blooms in the Alaskan Arctic: An emerging threat as the ocean warms. Oceanography 35(3–4):130–139, https://doi.org/10.5670/oceanog.2022.121.Access
  • Dai, Y., Yang, S., Zhao, D., Hu, C., Xu, W., Anderson, D.M., et al., 2023. Coastal phytoplankton blooms expand and intensify in the 21st century. Nature 615, p. 280–284. Access
  • Erdner, D.L., Richlen, M.R., McCauley, L.A.R., Anderson, D.M., 2011. Diversity and Dynamics of a Widespread Bloom of the Toxic Dinoflagellate Alexandrium fundyense. PloS one 6(7), e22965.Access
  • Harmful Algal Bloom Task Force. 2022. Progress and Recommendations Regarding Red Tide (Karenia brevis) Blooms. St. Petersburg, FL: Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. Consensus document #2, December 2021. https://myfwc.com/media/28286/habtf-consensus-2.pdfAccess
  • Hubbard, K.A., Rocap, G. and Armbrust, E., 2008. Inter-and intraspecific community structure within the diatom genus Pseudo-nitzschia (Bacillariophyceae). Journal of Phycology, 44(3), pp.637-649. Access
  • Hubbard, K.A., Olson, C.H. and Armbrust, E.V., 2014. Molecular characterization of Pseudo nitzschia community structure and species ecology in a hydrographically complex estuarine system (Puget Sound, Washington, USA). Marine Ecology Progress Series, 507, p.39. Access
  • Hubbard KA, Villac MC, Chadwick C, DeSmidt AA, Flewelling L, et al., 2023. Spatiotemporal transitions in Pseudo-nitzschia species assemblages and domoic acid along the Alaska coast. PLOS ONE 18(3): e0282794. Access
  • Lefebvre, K.A., Fachon, E., Bowers, E.K., Kimmel, D.G., Snyder, J.A., Stimmelmayr, R., Grebmeier, J.M., Kibler, S., Hardison, D.R., Anderson, D.M. and Kulis, D., 2022. Paralytic shellfish toxins in Alaskan Arctic food webs during the anomalously warm ocean conditions of 2019 and estimated toxin doses to Pacific walruses and bowhead whales. Harmful Algae, 114, p.102205. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.hal.2022.102205Access
  • Richlen, M.L., Erdner, D.L., McCauley, L.A.R., Libera, K., Anderson, D.M., 2012. Extensive genetic diversity and rapid population differentiation during blooms of Alexandrium fundyense (Dinophyceae) in an isolated salt pond on Cape Cod, MA, USA. Ecology and Evolution, 2(10): 2583-2594Access