GEOHAB CORE RESEARCH PROJECT: HABs IN UPWELLING SYSTEMS 1 GEOHAB GLOBAL ECOLOGY AND OCEANOGRAPHY OF HARMFUL ALGAL BLOOMS GEOHAB CORE RESEARCH PROJECT: HABS IN UPWELLING SYSTEMS AN INTERNATIONAL PROGRAMME SPONSORED BY THE SCIENTIFIC COMMITTEE ON OCEANIC RESEARCH (SCOR) AND THE INTERGOVERNMENTAL OCEANOGRAPHIC COMMISSION (IOC) OF UNESCO EDITED BY: G. PITCHER, T. MOITA, V. TRAINER, R. KUDELA, P. FIGUEIRAS, T. PROBYN BASED ON CONTRIBUTIONS BY PARTICIPANTS OF THE GEOHAB OPEN SCIENCE MEETING ON HABS IN UPWELLING SYSTEMS AND THE GEOHAB SCIENTIFIC STEERING COMMITTEE February 2005 3 This report may be cited as: GEOHAB 2005. Global Ecology and Oceanography of Harmful Algal Blooms, GEOHAB Core Research Project: HABs in Upwelling Systems. G. Pitcher, T. Moita, V. Trainer, R. Kudela, P. Figueiras, T. Probyn (Eds.) IOC and SCOR, Paris and Baltimore. 82 pp. This document is GEOHAB Report #3. Copies may be obtained from: Edward R. Urban, Jr. Henrik Enevoldsen Executive Director, SCOR Programme Co-ordinator Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences IOC Science and Communication Centre on The Johns Hopkins University Harmful Algae Baltimore, MD 21218 U.S.A. Botanical Institute, University of Copenhagen Tel: +1-410-516-4070 Øster Farimagsgade 2D Fax: +1-410-516-4019 DK-1353 Copenhagen K, Denmark E-mail: [email protected] Tel: +45 33 13 44 46 Fax: +45 33 13 44 47 E-mail: [email protected] This report is also available on the web at: http://www.jhu.edu/scor/ http://ioc.unesco.org/hab ISSN 1538-182X Cover photos courtesy of: Vera Trainer Teresa Moita Grant Pitcher Copyright © 2005 IOC and SCOR. Published by IOC, PARIS. (SC-2005/WS/19) 4 TABLE OF CONTENTS GEOHAB Global Ecology and Oceanography of Harmful Algal Blooms Core research project: HABs in upwelling systems TABLE OF CONTENTS ............................................................................................................. 5 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ........................................................................................................... 7 LIST OF ACRONYMS ................................................................................................................ 8 I INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................ 9 II THE GEOHAB APPROACH TO THE STUDY OF HARMFUL ALGAE IN UPWELLING SYSTEMS ....................................................................................................11 III AN OVERVIEW OF HABS IN DESIGNATED UPWELLING SYSTEMS ................... 12 A. GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF UPWELLING SYSTEMS .................................................. 12 B. IDENTIFICATION OF UPWELLING SYSTEMS FOR COMPARISON ............................. 14 1) Harmful Algae in the California Current System .......................................................... 14 2) Harmful Algae in the Iberian Upwelling System .......................................................... 23 3) Harmful Algae in the Benguela Upwelling System ....................................................... 31 IV KEY QUESTIONS TO BE ADDRESSED IN UNDERSTANDING THE ECOLOGY AND OCEANOGRAPHY OF HABS IN UPWELLING SYSTEMS ............................... 37 A. Are there definable adaptive strategies that characterize HAB species in upwelling systems? ... 37 B. What seeding strategies persist within upwelling regions and are they consistent among regions?................................................................................................................................. 39 C. How do small-scale physical processes affect HAB growth and dispersion in upwelling systems? ................................................................................................................................42 D. How do nutrient supply type and ratios determine HAB population dynamics in upwelling systems? ................................................................................................................................44 E. What is the role of genetic predisposition versus environmental conditions in toxin production in different upwelling systems within a given genus or species? ........................ 48 F. How does coastal morphology and bathymetry affect HAB dynamics in upwelling systems? ......50 G. What is the relative importance of cross-shelf and along-shore advection in different upwelling systems for HABs? ............................................................................................... 52 H. Are climate indicators predictive of HAB events in upwelling systems? ............................. 53 V FRAMEWORK ACTIVITIES ........................................................................................... 57 A. Scientific Networking and Coordination of Resources ......................................................... 57 B. Data Management and Data Sharing ..................................................................................... 58 C. Protocol and Quality Control ................................................................................................ 58 D. Capacity Building ................................................................................................................. 59 TABLE OF CONTENTS 5 E. Co-ordination of Modelling Activities ................................................................................. 59 F. Interaction With Other International Programmes and Projects............................................. 59 VI NEXT STEPS ...................................................................................................................... 61 REFERENCES ........................................................................................................................... 65 Appendix I – Open Science Meeting Program.............................................................................. 84 Appendix II – Meeting Participants ..............................................................................................88 6 TABLE OF CONTENTS EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The Global Ecology and Oceanography of Harmful Algal Blooms (GEOHAB) programme was initiated in 1999 by the Scientific Committee on Oceanic Research (SCOR) and the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC) of UNESCO to develop a research program on the ecological and oceanographic mechanisms underlying the population dynamics of harmful algal blooms (HABs). The end goal of this research is to allow the development of observation systems and models that will enable prediction of HABs, thereby reducing their impacts on the health of humans and marine organisms, as well as their economic and social impacts on society. The GEOHAB Implementation Plan (GEOHAB, 2003) specifies the formation of Core Research Projects (CRPs) related to four ecosystem types—upwelling systems, fjords and coastal embayments, eutrophic systems, and stratified systems. These CRPs are to be initiated through small, focused open science meetings. The first of these open science meetings focused on HABs in upwelling systems and resulted in this plan. The meeting served to identify interested participants and research regions and to bring together the international community to design core research. Meeting participants discussed a wide variety of research topics related to HABs in upwelling systems, which the meeting planning committee distilled into 8 key questions: A. Are there definable adaptive strategies that characterize HAB species in upwelling systems? B. What seeding strategies persist within upwelling regions and are they consistent among regions? C. How do small-scale physical processes affect HAB growth and dispersion in upwelling systems? D. How do nutrient supply type and ratios determine HAB population dynamics in upwelling systems? E. What is the role of genetic predisposition versus environmental conditions in toxin production in different upwelling systems within a given genus or species? F. How does coastal morphology and bathymetry affect HAB dynamics in upwelling systems? G. What is the relative importance of cross-shelf and along-shore advection in different upwelling systems for HABs? H. Are climate indicators predictive of HAB events in upwelling systems? Our understanding of and ability to predict HABs in upwelling systems over the next 5-10 years will reflect the extent to which the GEOHAB CRP can answer these questions. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 7 LIST OF ACRONYMS ASP amnesic shellfish poisoning AVHRR Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer CalCOFI California Cooperative Oceanic Fisheries Investigations CCS California Current System CLIVAR Climate Variability and Prediction project CRP Core Research Project DA domoic acid DAP domoic acid poisoning DIN dissolved inorganic nitrogen DSP diarrhetic shellfish poisoning EBC eastern boundary current ENSO El Niño-Southern Oscillation GEOHAB Global Ecology and Oceanography of Harmful Algal Blooms programme GLOBEC Global Ocean Ecosystem Dynamics project HAB harmful algal bloom HNLC high-nutrient, low chlorophyll ICES International Council for Exploration of the Seas IMAGES International Marine Aspects of Global Change project IMBER Integrated Marine Biogeochemistry and Ecosystem Research project IOC Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission IPO International Programme Office NAO North Atlantic Oscillation ORHAB Olympic Region Harmful Algal Bloom project PDO Pacific Decadal Oscillation PICES Pacific Marine Sciences Organization PSP paralytic shellfish poisoning RFLP restriction fragment length polymorphism SCOR Scientific Committee on Oceanic