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Small Bloom Expected

May 23, 2016

Alexandrium fundyense is the algae notorious for producing a toxin that accumulates in shellfish and can cause paralytic shellfish poisoning in humans. This organism swims in the water and divides again and again causing harmful algal blooms. At the end of a bloom, it produces dormant, seed-like cysts (shown here under a microscope) that fall to bottom of the ocean. Researchers are forecasting a small bloom for 2016 because cyst abundances measured in late 2015 were the lowest recorded since the surveys began in 2004. Researchers say continued monitoring is still necessary since oceanographic conditions can also affect Alexandrium blooms and shellfish toxicity. (Photo by Don Anderson, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)