Crassostrea virginica grazing on toxic and non-toxic diatoms.

Despite high abundances of toxic Pseudo-nitzschia spp. over Louisiana oyster beds (Crassostrea virginica; eastern oyster) there have been no documented cases of amnesic shellfish poisoning (ASP) in the state. Two possible explanations are that oysters do not readily feed on long pointed chains of Pseudo-nitzschia cells or they discriminate against toxic cells while grazing. To test these hypotheses, short-term grazing experiments were conducted with several diatoms, including the domoic acid (DA)-producing Pseudo-nitzschia multiseries (1.31+/-0.057 pg DA cell(-1)) and the non-toxic Pseudo-nitzschia delicatissima, Thalassiosira weissflogii, and Ditylum brightwellii. Grazing rates on the small centric species T. weissflogii were significantly higher than on the larger and pointier D. brightwellii and either Pseudo-nitzschia species. Grazing on toxic P. multiseries and non-toxic P. delicatissima was not significantly different. Pseudofeces production was higher and feces production was occasionally lower in oysters fed Pseudo-nitzschia spp. than in oysters fed the other two diatoms. Our data demonstrate lower filtration rates of C. virginica on Pseudo-nitzschia spp. relative to the other diatoms tested and comparable filtration on toxic and non-toxic Pseudo-nitzschia spp. These findings suggest that eastern oysters do not discriminate amongst food types due to DA content.

Eutrophication and Harmful Algal Blooms: A Scientific Consensus.

In January 2003, the US Environmental Protection Agency sponsored a "roundtable discussion" to develop a consensus on the relationship between eutrophication and harmful algal blooms (HABs), specifically targeting those relationships for which management actions may be appropriate. Academic, federal, and state agency representatives were in attendance. The following seven statements were unanimously adopted by attendees based on review and analysis of current as well as pertinent previous data: 1) Degraded water quality from increased nutrient pollution promotes the development and persistence of many HABs and is one of the reasons for their expansion in the U.S. and the world; 2) The composition - not just the total quantity - of the nutrient pool impacts HABs; 3) High biomass blooms must have exogenous nutrients to be sustained; 4) Both chronic and episodic nutrient delivery promote HAB development; 5) Recently developed tools and techniques are already improving the detection of some HABs, and emerging technologies are rapidly advancing toward operational status for the prediction of HABs and their toxins; 6) Experimental studies are critical to further the understanding of the role of nutrients in HAB expression, and will strengthen prediction and mitigation of HABs; and 7) Management of nutrient inputs to the watershed can lead to significant reduction in HABs. Supporting evidence and pertinent examples for each consensus statement is provided herein.

Fluctuating silicate:nitrate ratios and coastal plankton food webs.

Marine diatoms require dissolved silicate to form an external shell, and their growth becomes Si-limited when the atomic ratio of silicate to dissolved inorganic nitrogen (Si:DIN) approaches 1:1, also known as the "Redfield ratio." Fundamental changes in the diatom-to-zooplankton-to-higher trophic level food web should occur when this ratio falls below 1:1 and the proportion of diatoms in the phytoplankton community is reduced. We quantitatively substantiate these predictions by using a variety of data from the Mississippi River continental shelf, a system in which the Si:DIN loading ratio has declined from around 3:1 to 1:1 during this century because of land-use practices in the watershed. We suggest that, on this shelf, when the Si:DIN ratio in the river decreases to less than 1:1, then (i) copepod abundance changes from >75% to <30% of the total mesozooplankton, (ii) zooplankton fecal pellets become a minor component of the in situ primary production consumed, and (iii) bottom-water oxygen consumption rates become less dependent on relatively fast-sinking (diatom-rich) organic matter packaged mostly as zooplankton fecal pellets. This coastal ecosystem appears to be a pelagic food web dynamically poised to be either a food web composed of diatoms and copepods or one with potentially disruptive harmful algal blooms. The system is directed between these two ecosystem states by Mississippi River water quality, which is determined by land-use practices far inland.