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Patterns of paralytic shellfish toxicity in the St. Lawrence region in relationship with the abundance and distribution of Alexandrium tamarense

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dc.creator Blasco, Dolors
dc.creator Levasseur, Maurice
dc.creator Bonneau, Esther
dc.creator Gelinas, Roger
dc.creator Packard, Theodore T.
dc.date 2007-11-29T11:53:37Z
dc.date 2007-11-29T11:53:37Z
dc.date 2003-09-30
dc.date.accessioned 2017-01-31T00:59:09Z
dc.date.available 2017-01-31T00:59:09Z
dc.identifier Scientia Marina 67(3): 261-278 (2003)
dc.identifier 0214-8358
dc.identifier http://hdl.handle.net/10261/2422
dc.identifier 10.3989/scimar.2003.67n3261
dc.identifier 1886-8134
dc.identifier.uri http://dspace.mediu.edu.my:8181/xmlui/handle/10261/2422
dc.description [EN] Shellfish toxin data from 11 years and Alexandrium tamarense abundance during 6 of those years are analysed. Comparison of PSP toxicity in Mytilus edulis with PSP toxicity in Mya arenaria shows a significant correlation (r2=0.61), with M. edulis being five times more toxic. The results support using M. edulis as a sentinel species for shellfish toxicity in the St. Lawrence region. High interannual variability was found in the PSP and A. tamarense data, but no trends were manifest. Correlation analysis revealed clearly defined geographical station groups. These groups were characterised by seasonal distributions and outbreak times, and were associated with the surface seawater circulation. The results indicate blooms spreading from the open Gulf, upstream toward the Estuary. Since the spring bloom also spreads upstream, we hypothesise that the A. tamarense bloom is just one of the steps in the traditional phytoplankton succession diatoms-dinoflagellates-small flagellates, which is controlled by the classic oceanographic processes of nutrient depletion and water column stratification. A. tamarense distribution over the entire sampled area was similar to the PSP toxicity in M. edulis. In 1993, 59% of PSP variability was explained by A. tamarense. Furthermore, mussel toxin rises with increasing A. tamarense concentration. Shellfish contamination starts as soon as A. tamarense is present in the water. In addition, detoxification starts when A. tamarense decreases below the level of detection. However, the most important finding of this study is that only 1000 A. tamarense cells per litre are sufficient to raise the toxin in the mussels to the level (80 µg STX eq/100 g tissue) at which the closure of shellfish harvesting activities is obligatory.
dc.description [ES] Se han analizado once años de datos de toxinas de moluscos y seis años de abundancia de Alexandrium tamarense. Se ha comparado la toxicidad pos PSO entre Mytilus edulis y Mya arenaria. El mejillón es cinco veces más tóxico.
dc.description Peer reviewed
dc.language eng
dc.publisher Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (España)
dc.relation http://dx.doi.org/10.3989/scimar.2003.67n3261
dc.rights openAccess
dc.subject Red tides
dc.subject harmful algal blooms
dc.subject dinoflagellates
dc.subject phytoplankton
dc.subject PSP
dc.subject mussels
dc.subject Mytilus edulis
dc.subject Mya arenaria
dc.title Patterns of paralytic shellfish toxicity in the St. Lawrence region in relationship with the abundance and distribution of Alexandrium tamarense
dc.title Pautas de intoxicación paralítica de moluscos en la región canadiense del rio San Lorenzo. Relación con abundancia y distribución de Alexandrium tamarense
dc.type Artículo


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