12th International Conference on Harmful Algae

INTERNATIONAL SOCIETY FOR THE STUDY OF HARMFUL ALGAE12 th <strong>International</strong> <strong>Conference</strong> on Harmful Algae, Copenhagen, Denmark, 4-8 September 2006occurrences of algal groups;including cyanobacteria. In thepresent study the compliancebetween this strategy and othermethods commonly applied todescribe and quantify phytoplanktoncomposition were compared;including lab fluorometry,spectrophotometry and HPLCpigment analyses andmicroscopically examination. Inaddition, the occurrence ofmicrocystins was assessed. Ingeneral, acceptable coherence wasobserved between the differentstrategies when accessed based onthe occurrence and dominance ofcyanobacteria. Regarding the otheralgal groups obvious discrepanciesoccurred; i.e. the in situ fluorometermethod was not able to describe thephytoplankton community properly.O.19-05Phytoplankton communitycomposition observed byautonomous underwater vehicleSession: O.19 - Monitoring 2Presentation time: 12:20 - 12:40GJ Kirkpatrick 1 , MA Moline 2 , SELohrenz 3 , OM Schofield 41 Mote Marine Laboratory, SARASOTA,United States of America2 California Polytechnic State University,SAN LUIS OBISPO, United States ofAmerica3 University of Southern Mississippi,STENNIS SPACE CENTER, United Statesof America4 Rutgers University, NEW BRUNSWICK,United States of AmericaLaboratory and field studies havedemonstrated the feasibility ofdetecting Karenia brevis blooms inthe eastern Gulf of Mexico utilizinglight absorbance spectra.Development of this technique hasbeen aimed at providing moretimely access to data andinformation on the initiation,transport, and effects of K. brevisblooms. Management efforts tomitigate the harmful effects ofblooms will require temporal andspatial monitoring of phytoplanktoncommunity taxonomic compositionand dynamics. To achieve thistaxonomic discrimination, laboratorycultures of 12 species of microalgaerepresenting five taxonomic classeswere used to develop a library oftarget classes. A fitting routineinvolving multiple least-squaresanalyses was applied toBreveBuster absorbance spectra todetermine the ‘best fit’ estimates ofchlorophyll a concentrationcontributed by each class in bothlaboratory culture mixes and naturalmixed populations. A ten-daydeployment of a BreveBuster on anautonomous underwater vehicle(AUV) off the west coast of Floridain September and October 2004detected a Karenia brevispopulation associated withcyanobacteria and diatompopulations which had not beenobserved by manual sampling.Multiple transects across the shelfby the AUV over this ten-day periodillustrated the spatial and temporaldynamics of the phytoplanktoncommunity.O.19-06Retrospective GIS analyses ofthe Florida red tide databaseSession: O.19 - Monitoring 2Presentation time: 12:40 - 13:00KA Steidinger 1 , JA Tustison 2 , CA Heil 21 University of South Florida, ST.PETERSBURG, United States of America2 FL Fish & Wildlife Conservation Comm.,ST. PETERSBURG, United States ofAmericaFlorida red tides (Karenia brevis)are the most frequent and longest74