title: A red tide of Alexandrium fundyense in the Gulf of Maine.
abstract: In early July 2009, an unusually high concentration of the toxic dinoflagellateAlexandrium fundyenseoccurred in the western Gulf of Maine, causing surface waters to appear reddish brown to the human eye. The discolored water appeared to be the southern terminus of a large-scale event that caused shellfish toxicity along the entire coast of Maine to the Canadian border. Rapid-response shipboard sampling efforts together with satellite data suggest the water discoloration in the western Gulf of Maine was a highly ephemeral feature of less than two weeks in duration. Flow cytometric analysis of surface samples from the red water indicated the population was undergoing sexual reproduction. Cyst fluxes downstream of the discolored water were the highest ever measured in the Gulf of Maine, and a large deposit of new cysts was observed that fall. Although the mechanisms causing this event remain unknown, its timing coincided with an anomalous period of downwelling-favorable winds that could have played a role in aggregating upward-swimming cells. Regardless of the underlying causes, this event highlights the importance of short-term episodic phenomena on regional population dynamics ofA. fundyense.
authors.affiliation: Department of Applied Ocean Physics and Engineering, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, MA 02543, USA.
authors.forename: D J
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: McGillicuddy
authors.affiliation: Biology Department, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, MA 02543, USA.
authors.forename: M L
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Brosnahan
authors.affiliation: Resource Access International, Brunswick, ME 04011, USA.
authors.forename: D A
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Couture
authors.affiliation: Department of Maine, Earth, and Atmospheric Sciences, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC 27695, USA.
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: He
authors.affiliation: Biology Department, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, MA 02543, USA.
authors.forename: B A
authors.initials: BA
authors.lastname: Keafer
authors.affiliation: National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration, Northeast Fisheries Science Center, Woods Hole, MA 02543, USA.
authors.forename: J P
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Manning
authors.affiliation: St. Andrews Biological Station, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, St. Andrews, NB E5B 2L9, Canada.
authors.forename: J L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Martin
authors.affiliation: School of Marine Sciences, University of Massachusetts Dartmouth, North Dartmouth, MA 02747, USA.
authors.forename: C H
authors.initials: CH
authors.lastname: Pilskaln
authors.affiliation: School of Marine Sciences, University of Maine, Orono, ME 04469, USA.
authors.forename: D W
authors.initials: DW
authors.lastname: Townsend
authors.affiliation: Biology Department, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, MA 02543, USA.
authors.forename: D M
authors.initials: DM
authors.lastname: Anderson
keywords: Cysts; Gulf of Maine; Paralytic shellfish poisoning; Phytoplankton; Population dynamics; Red tides; USA