Chapter Twelve - In Situ and Real-Time Identification of Toxins and Toxin-Producing Microorganisms in the Environment

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Introduction

Bloom-forming species of algae and cyanobacteria, along with the diverse array of toxins they produce, presently represent a clear threat in coastal regions throughout the world's oceans that is likely to worsen under the anticipated effects of climate change [1]. Harmful algal blooms (HABs) and their toxins adversely affect human, animal and ecosystem health and can cause extensive damage to regional and local economies via fishery closures, water quality/contamination issues and impacts on tourism and recreational water use. Effective HAB management and mitigation efforts rely heavily on the availability of timely and actionable information about the development, trajectory and toxicity of bloom populations. Considerable work is being directed at establishing location-specific early warning capabilities and developing models to support regional forecasts of bloom dynamics and toxicity [2], [3]. In the same way that real or near-real time observing data are ingested into and assimilated by weather forecast models, such data streams for HAB-specific physicochemical and biological variables are essential to producing accurate forecasts of bloom events and assessing their associated risks.

Over the past decade significant advances have been made in the development of deployment platforms and sensor technologies for the in situ and real-time detection of HAB species and toxins. The ability to measure concentrations of both organisms and toxins is essential given that cellular toxicity, and thus the potential to realize many of the adverse impacts identified above, is highly variable and influenced by a complex suite of interactions between organisms and their environment (e.g., Ref. [4]). A wide range of autonomous and field-deployable sensor technologies is currently available to provide sustained observations of HAB species and toxins, and these are described below with a primary focus on the actual technologies and their applications, along with brief, high-level explanations of the theory/methodology underpinning their operation. The prospects for integrating certain of these technologies into the rapidly advancing infrastructure of observing networks in support of HAB management and mitigation are also considered.

Section snippets

Satellite/Airborne Technologies

Remote sensing has long been considered an obvious tool for studying the distribution of HAB organisms over larger spatial and shorter time scales than are possible with ship-based sampling [5], [6]. Legacy and next-generation instrumentation and sensors, including Sea-viewing Wide Field-of-view Sensor (SeaWiFS), Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS), Medium Resolution Imaging Spectrometer (MERIS) and the ocean and land colour instrument (OLCI) sensor on Sentinel-3 (Fig. 1), are

In-water deployment platforms

HAB and toxin detection have often relied on traditional methods such as volunteer sampling networks and shore-based sampling, often with event-based or trigger-based tiered approaches [22], [23]. Although extremely valuable, these shore-based programs frequently under sample the coastal ocean where bloom events typically originate. It has long been recognized that augmented sampling based on an understanding of the inherent variability of a system from point (shore-based observations,

FlowCAM (Fluid Imaging Technologies, Inc.)

The FlowCAM combines flow cytometry with light microscope-like optics to detect and monitor for the presence of HAB species. Although primarily a benchtop instrument, its portability outside of the laboratory has been demonstrated by dockside and shipboard applications. Material for analysis can be introduced either as discrete water samples or via integration with a continuous flow-through pumping system. A computer-controlled syringe pump pulls fluid through a flow cell oriented perpendicular

The Future Is Now: Integrating Harmful Algal Bloom Detection Technologies Into Observing Networks

Development of coordinated observing networks capable of detecting, monitoring and predicting HAB events has long been a goal of the oceanographic community. In 2001, the ICES-IOC Working Group on Harmful Algal Bloom Dynamics proposed a workshop ‘Real Time Observation Systems Applied to Harmful Algal Bloom Dynamics Studies and Global Ecosystem Functioning’, which was strongly endorsed by both GOOS and the Global Ecology and Oceanography of Harmful Algal Blooms program. This ultimately led to

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This publication does not constitute an endorsement of any commercial product or intend to be an opinion beyond scientific or other results obtained by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). No reference shall be made to NOAA, or this publication furnished by NOAA, to any advertising or sales promotion, which would indicate or imply that NOAA recommends or endorses any proprietary product mentioned herein, or which has as its purpose an interest to cause the advertised

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