title: Toxin-producing Ostreopsis cf. ovata are likely to bloom undetected along coastal areas.
abstract: Mass appearances of the toxic dinoflagellate genus Ostreopsis are known to cause dangerous respiratory symptoms in humans exposed to aerosols. The outbreaks can appear in shallow marine waters of temperate regions around the globe. We followed a massive bloom event on a public beach on the northern Adriatic coast near Rovinj, Croatia. We identified the responsible species and the produced toxins as well as the dynamics of the event with respect to environmental conditions. Ostreopsis cf. ovata appeared in masses from September through October 2010 on a public beach near Rovinj, Croatia but stayed undetected by public health organizations. Respiratory symptoms were observed whenever humans were exposed to substrate samples containing large numbers of Ostreopsis cells. During the mass abundance of O. cf. ovata also exposure to the aerosols on the beach evoked respiratory symptoms in humans. Our measurements showed high cell abundances and high toxin contents with a stable relative contribution of putative Palytoxin and Ovatoxins a-e. Artificial beach structures proved to dramatically reduce settling of the observed Ostreopsis biofilm. Blooms like those reported herein have a high potential to happen undetected with a high potential of affecting the health of coastal human populations. Increased monitoring efforts are therefore required to understand the ecology and toxicology of those bloom events and reduce their negative impact on coastal populations.
authors.affiliation: Institute Ruđer Bošković, Center for Marine Research, Giordano Palliaga 5, 52210 Rovinj, Croatia. martin.pfannkuchen@cim.irb.hr
authors.forename: Martin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Pfannkuchen
authors.forename: Jelena
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Godrijan
authors.forename: Daniela Marić
authors.initials: DM
authors.lastname: Pfannkuchen
authors.forename: Ljiljana
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Iveša
authors.forename: Petar
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Kružić
authors.forename: Patrizia
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Ciminiello
authors.forename: Carmela
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Dell'Aversano
authors.forename: Emma
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Dello Iacovo
authors.forename: Ernesto
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Fattorusso
authors.forename: Martino
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Forino
authors.forename: Luciana
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Tartaglione
authors.forename: Margareta
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Godrijan
mesh_terms: D000178:Acrylamides / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000633:toxicity; D018441:Biofilms / Q000187:drug effects; D003064:Cnidarian Venoms; D017523:Croatia; D004141:Dinoflagellida / Q000166:cytology / Q000187:drug effects / Q000254:growth & development / Q000378:metabolism*; D017753:Ecosystem; D005068:Eutrophication / Q000187:drug effects; D006801:Humans; D008387:Marine Toxins / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D058086:Microalgae / Q000187:drug effects / Q000254:growth & development; D012623:Seawater; D013045:Species Specificity; D000095702:Polyether Toxins
chemical_list: D000178:Acrylamides; D003064:Cnidarian Venoms; D008387:Marine Toxins; C010272:palytoxin; D000095702:Polyether Toxins