Pubblicazione scientifica

Multispecies mass mortality of marine fauna linked to a toxic dinoflagellate bloom

FILONE TECNOLOGICO	TEMA
economia circolare e sostenibilità
produzione e cattura
produzione e raccolta
trasformazione e commercializzazione

RIASSUNTO

Following heavy precipitation, we observed an intense algal bloom in the St. Lawrence Estuary (SLE) that coincided with an unusually high mortality of several species of marine fish, birds and mammals, including species designated at risk. The algal species was identified as Alexandrium tamarense and was determined to contain a potent mixture of paralytic shellfish toxins (PST). Significant levels of PST were found in the liver and/or gastrointestinal contents of several carcasses tested as well as in live planktivorous fish, molluscs and plankton samples collected during the bloom. This provided strong evidence for the trophic transfer of PST resulting in mortalities of multiple wildlife species. This conclusion was strengthened by the sequence of mortalities, which followed the drift of the bloom along the coast of the St. Lawrence Estuary. No other cause of mortality was identified in the majority of animals examined at necropsy. Reports of marine fauna presenting signs of neurological dysfunction were also supportive of exposure to these neurotoxins. The event reported here represents the first well-documented case of multispecies mass mortality of marine fish, birds and mammals linked to a PST-producing algal bloom.

DATA

Data di pubblicazione: 04/05/2017

AUTORI

STARR MICHEL
LAIR STEPHANE
MICHAUD SONIA
SCARRATT MICHAEL
QUILLIAM MICHAEL
LEFAIVRE DENIS
ROBERT MICHEL
WOTHERSPOON ANDREW
MICHAUD ROBERT
MENARD NADIA
SAUVE GILBERT
LESSARD SYLVIE
BELAND PIERRE
MEASURES LENA

ENTE DI AFFERENZA

Groupe de Recherche et D’éducation sur les Mammifères Marins (GREMM) Tadoussac Québec Canada
MAURICE LAMONTAGNE INST FISHERIES & OCEANS CANADA DFO MONT JOLI QUEBEC CANADA
CANADIAN COOPERATIVE WILDLIFE HEALTH CTR FACULTE DE MEDECINE VETERINAIRE UNIV MONTREAL UM ST HYACINTHE QUEBEC CANADA
NATL RSCH COUNCIL OF CANADA NRCC BIOTOXIN METROLOGY HALIFAX NOVA SCOTIA CANADA
ENVIRONMENT & CLIMATE CHANGE CANADA CANADIAN WILDLIFE SRVC CWS QUEBEC QUEBEC CANADA
PARKS CANADA SAGUENAY ST LAWRENCE MARINE PARK TADOUSSAC QUEBEC CANADA
CANADIAN FOOD INSPECTION AGENCY CFIA QUEBEC QUEBEC CANADA
ST LAWRENCE NATL INST ECOTOXICOLOGY SLNIE KNOWLTON QUEBEC CANADA
UNIV CONNECTICUT US

RIVISTA

PLoS ONE, 12(5), e0176299

IMPACT FACTOR

2,870

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