HABs in a changing world: a perspective on harmful algal blooms, their impacts, and research and management in a dynamic era of climactic and environmental change.
Year: 2014
Type: conference-paper
Abstract: Clearly, there are many challenges facing HAB scientists and managers as well as the HAB species themselves in this rapidly changing world. A growing world population and the need to provide food for 30% more people in the next 40 years will lead to increased nutrient enrichment of coastal waters. As a result, we can expect more HABs in some areas as well as increased impacts due to the expansion of aquaculture operations in affected regions, and perhaps even the direct stimulation of HABs by these operations. These expanded impacts will be most significant in developing areas of the world that are already struggling with growing HAB problems – areas like China, southeast Asia, India, and Africa. In some areas, pressures to reduce nutrients are going to conflict with the need for enhanced coastal productivity in support of dense aquaculture (the favorable algal bloom or FAB concept). It is also clear that there will be other ramifications of the changing perception of HABs by resource managers and funding agencies, potentially shifting funding away from certain topics (e.g., fundamental ecology and physiology) and into others (e.g., prevention, control, and mitigation). Driven by the need for more accurate yet less-expensive monitoring data, improvements in technologies for cell and toxin detection will continue at a rapid pace, as will the efforts to incorporate some of these technologies into autonomous biosensors that can augment monitoring programs and provide valuable, real-time data to improve detection and forecasting efforts. Molecular biology and ‘omic’ technologies will continue to provide novel insights into HAB taxonomy, evolution, cell physiology, and gene function. With respect to climate change, other than stating that there will be range extensions and contractions for HAB species, little else can be predicted about future changes due to the current lack of long-term data sets and the complexities within the environments and ecosystems where HABs occur. Even the most advanced HAB models are far from the stage where long-term forecasts are possible that can reflect these complexities and incorporate future climate projections in a way that is realistic. Incremental progress in forecasting is needed, however, and should not be discouraged because of its high uncertainty at present. Valuable information about the resilience of HAB species and communities can be gleaned from weather or climate variations that mimic future climate change scenarios, so every effort should be made to take advantage of these as they occur. Overall, there will continue to be many new challenges in HAB research and management, but the tools, technologies, and skilled personnel are in place to minimize impacts and protect public health and marine resources as never before.
Source: PubMed
Author: Donald Anderson
Institution: Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
Language: English
Subfield: Environmental Chemistry
Field: Environmental Science
Domain: Physical Sciences
SDG: Life below water
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W2417398132