Shellfish Poisoning Research Articles

Adriatic Sea Fishery Product Safety and Prospectives in Relation to Climate Change

This bibliographic study addresses key aspects related to fishing, product safety, and climate change in the Adriatic Sea region. The examination of product safety focuses on the assessment of contaminants originating from human activities such as industry, mining, agriculture, and household waste disposal. The contamination of the aquatic environment has emerged as a pressing global concern, extending to the Adriatic basin. Aquatic organisms, including fish, are prone to accumulating pollutants directly from polluted water sources and indirectly through the food web. The bio-accumulation of potentially hazardous substances, particularly heavy metals, pesticides, PCBs, PAHs, and antibiotic resistance in aquatic organisms, poses a significant threat to human health. Climate change effects will deplete our seafood supply in terms of quantity and safety owing to negative consequences such as higher levels of pollution, parasites, viruses, infections, acidification, and toxicities such as shellfish poisoning. Global food safety strategies should be developed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and promote environmentally friendly technology, which indirectly affects seafood quality and microbiological safety, especially for the Adriatic Sea, which is part of the Mediterranean Sea, characterized by the most polluted waters in the world.

Seafood Safety, Potential Hazards and Future Perspective

Along with the numerous benefits for human health, seafood may pose various health risks. These potential hazards may be of anthropogenic origin as well as natural. Pathogenic bacteria, viruses, organic and inorganic pollutants, microplastics, parasites, shellfish poisonings, ciguatera, tetrodotoxin, histamine, or seafood allergy may threat consumer health. Evaluating the possible sources of these hazards and conditions is necessary to provide healthy and safe seafood to the consumer. Increased awareness of consumers on sustainability, food safety, origin and availability will greatly affect consumption trends. Therefore, this review presents a future perspective for seafood consumption. Antibiotic resistance and the effect of climate change on fish consumption, the recent critical problems of the seafood industry, were also discussed. This review gives current information on the potential hazards of seafood and provides a perspective for future trends in fish consumption. The seafood processing sector should consider these potential risks and adapt to changing consumer preferences.

Toxic effects, mechanisms, and ecological impacts of harmful algal blooms in China

Over the last 30 years, harmful algal blooms (HABs) have occurred frequently in the coastal waters of China, resulting in financial losses of over 5.9 billion yuan (about 0.87 billion US dollars) due to massive fish and shellfish mortalities and negative impacts on tourism. To better understand HABs in China, herein we summarized bloom events with massive fish/shellfish mortalities and/or economic losses. Our results suggest that the diversity of HAB species has increased over the last 30 years, with the main causative species shifting from the raphidophyte Chattonella marina and dinoflagellates Gymnodinium spp. to various other species, including the dinoflagellates Karenia mikimotoi and Prorocentrum donghaiense, the haptophyte Phaeocystis globosa, and the pelagophyte Aureococcus anophagefferens. In addition, new types of HABs, such as macroalgal blooms, emerged with severe ecological impacts. We also reviewed the toxic effects, mechanisms, and ecological impacts of common HAB causative species in China. Analysis of the toxic effects of three types of harmful algae (toxin-producing, fish killing, and ecosystem disruptive algae) on marine organisms commonly found in China at different trophic levels revealed that HABs often had toxic effects on multiple organisms in addition to fish or shellfish, with species-specific impacts. Common mechanisms of intoxication include shifting environmental parameters, shellfish poisoning, reactive oxygen species, and haemolytic/cytotoxic toxins. The main mechanism appears to vary with the type of HAB species, and for some notorious algae such as K. mikimotoi and C. marina, further investigations are needed to identify their intoxication mechanism.

Heavy Metal Determination of Bivalves in Cagayan Valley, Philippines

Level of heavy metals like Cadmium (Cd) and Lead (Pb) in bivalves has been intensively studied during recent years as these hazardous substances could be accumulated in the biota and has been a hot issue in marine environmental studies. By consuming the shellfish, risk of bivalve related diseases may increase. And this shellfish poisoning is a concern to public health. This research study aims to determine if the Bivalves in Cagayan Valley, Philippines is safe to consume. The Freshwater clam (Corbicula fluminea) and the Marine mussel (Mytilus edulis) in Cagayan Valley, Philippines was collected for this study. The byssus and shells were removed, leaving only soft tissues to be used for the analysis and they were categorized into two. Graphite Furnace- Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer (GFAAS) was used to determine the concentrations of Cadmium (Cd) and Lead (Pb). The results showed that the Freshwater bivalves Corbicula fluminea has a concentration 0.006 μg/g of Lead (Pb) and a concentration 0.016 μg/g. of Cadmium (Cd) while for Marine bivalves Mytilus edulis, the concentration of Pb was 0.011 μg/g and the concentration of Cd levels was 0.015 μg/g. The test results showed that the heavy metals, lead, and cadmium, were at low levels when referred to guidelines on heavy metals for food safety by different countries, particularly Malaysia. Thus, the results that were found were quite lower and there are no health risks to the people when consuming these bivalves collected from the province of Cagayan. Based on the results of the study conducted, the researchers recommend using different bivalve species to know the levels of heavy metals on bivalve species, investigate lead and cadmium heavy metals concentrations of one species collected in different areas/locations in Cagayan Valley and investigate the lead and cadmium heavy metal concentration of different bivalves in a regular basis i.e., monthly, or quarterly for at least 1 year.

Everyone Dies Famous in a Small Town by Bonnie-Sue Hitchcock

Reviewed by: Everyone Dies Famous in a Small Town by Bonnie-Sue Hitchcock Elizabeth Bush Hitchcock, Bonnie-Sue Everyone Dies Famous in a Small Town. Lamb, 2021 [208p] Library ed. ISBN 9781984892607 $20.99 Trade ed. ISBN 9781984892591 $17.99 E-book ed. ISBN 9781984892614 $10.99 Reviewed from digital galleys R Gr. 8–12 The opening story, “Angry Starfish,” situates readers in familiar YA territory: Gina, furious with her father’s new relationship, takes her anger out on the new girlfriend’s daughter, Poppy, a young child who sublimates an unspecified trauma through an intense friendship with an imaginary friend. Readers of Hitchcock’s The Smell of Other People’s Houses (BCCB 4/16) will know this deceptively self-contained tale is leading somewhere, but where should they look? To Gina and the parental drama? Or to Poppy and her Elizabeth? As story after story unfolds, bouncing among locales in Alaska, Colorado, and the coastal Pacific Northwest, Hitchcock patiently guides readers along a shadowy path through twin mysteries involving a predatory priest and an abducted child, with clues to the solutions cagily hidden among the quotidian friendship, romantic, and domestic dramas that inexorably interconnect. Most tales are intriguing in their own right: the friends who suspect they might share the same father; a young man suffering from amnesia brought on by shellfish poisoning; the high school seductress with no compunction over lengthening her list of conquests; a wildfire that draws together a diffident young woman and a firefighter ready to break a troublesome relationship There’s an purposeful orderliness to the tales’ positioning that allows references and clues from previous stories to accumulate en route to the final reveals. This will inspire readers to count degrees of separation and ponder the temporal and spatial distances tragedy can reach. Copyright © 2021 The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois

Omics Analysis for Dinoflagellates Biology Research.

Dinoflagellates are important primary producers for marine ecosystems and are also responsible for certain essential components in human foods. However, they are also notorious for their ability to form harmful algal blooms, and cause shellfish poisoning. Although much work has been devoted to dinoflagellates in recent decades, our understanding of them at a molecular level is still limited owing to some of their challenging biological properties, such as large genome size, permanently condensed liquid-crystalline chromosomes, and the 10-fold lower ratio of protein to DNA than other eukaryotic species. In recent years, omics technologies, such as genomics, transcriptomics, proteomics, and metabolomics, have been applied to the study of marine dinoflagellates and have uncovered many new physiological and metabolic characteristics of dinoflagellates. In this article, we review recent application of omics technologies in revealing some of the unusual features of dinoflagellate genomes and molecular mechanisms relevant to their biology, including the mechanism of harmful algal bloom formations, toxin biosynthesis, symbiosis, lipid biosynthesis, as well as species identification and evolution. We also discuss the challenges and provide prospective further study directions and applications of dinoflagellates.

Toxicity equivalence factors for regulated and non-regulated marine toxins

Marine Toxins are classified into groups such as saxitoxin, okadaic acid, azaspiracid, domoic acid, brevetoxin and palytoxin. They cause various shellfish poisonings after the consumption of seafood naturally contaminated. Many countries worldwide have established maximum permitted concentration of several toxin groups in seafood expressed as the level of the reference compound. The estimation of the total toxicity of seafood samples for risk assessment requires the determination of Toxicity Equivalence Factors (TEF). At present, TEFs are largely based on toxicity by intraperitoneal injection in mouse. Since humans are exposed to marine toxins by oral route, relevant parameters for updating TEFs are data from lethal doses via oral administration in animals. For non-regulated groups, not enough information is available to determine TEFs.

Dinoflagellates: Ecological Approaches and Spatial Distributions in Malaysia Waters

Dinoflagellates are microscopic planktonic organisms that lead up the food chain in aquatic ecosystems. The naturally occurring phenomenon of Dinoflagellates blooming at the water surface brings detrimental effects to the economy as well as the environmental health of the affected ecosystem. Different types of dinoflagellates require different approaches in monitoring the excessive growth phenomenon. Identifying the vicinity of targeted species like environmental conditions is beneficial to overcome the blooming event. The tropical warm water of Malaysia eventually promotes the proliferation of harmful microalgae. Fish killings and human intoxication case reported in Malaysia to be precise are noteworthy effects brought by massive growth of Dinoflagellates. Shellfish poisonings are the silent killer to human as the outbreaks of harmful algae are obscured. Intoxication from Dinoflagellates may bring to death without prior notice. This paper provides information on Dinoflagellates growth mechanism and action potential induced by the toxins which are efficacious for mitigation and treatment purposes. Monitoring the pattern of blooming is a practical approach as no solid solution to the sudden outbreak has yet been clarified.

Validation Study for Analytical Method of Diarrhetic Shellfish Poisons in 9 Kinds of Shellfish

A method was developed for the simultaneous determination of okadaic acid, dinophysistoxin-1 and dinophysistoxin-2 in shellfish using ultra performance liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry. Shellfish poisons in spiked samples were extracted with methanol and 90% methanol, and were hydrolyzed with 2.5 mol/L sodium hydroxide solution. Purification was done on an HLB solid-phase extraction column. This method was validated in accordance with the notification of Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare of Japan. As a result of the validation study in nine kinds of shellfish, the trueness, repeatability and within-laboratory reproducibility were 79-101%, less than 12 and 16%, respectively. The trueness and precision met the target values of notification.

海洋玫瑰杆菌类群研究进展

Marine Roseobacter clade is a phylogenetically coherent,but physiologically diverse group of α-Proteobacteria,with members sharing 89% identity of the 16 S rRNA gene. It contains more than 40 different genera. Roseobacter was found to be abundant in marine environment,especially in coastal and polar oceans,where Roseobacter clade comprises 15% —25% of the total bacterioplankton communities. Roseobacters also exist ubiquitously in the ocean. Based on culture collections,16 S rRNA clone libraries, and single-cell analyses, roseobacters have been identified in most marine environment sampled,such as sea ice,sea floor,hypersaline microbial mats,sponges,sea grasses,and coastal biofilms,etc. whereas,this bacterial group is noticeable absent in analogous freshwater and terrestrial soil environment. Quantitative 16 S rRNA gene analyses show that Roseobacter populations fall off with depth in the ocean,and are often most abundant in bacterial communities associated with marine algae. Roseobacter lineage is the only abundant marine group,whose cultivated representatives are closely related to the not-yet-cultivated environmental clone sequences. Diverse life styles have been found in Roseobacter clade, such as free living, particle associated, or in commensal relationships with marine phytoplankton,invertebrates,and vertebrates. Also,diverse physiological metabolic traits were found in this bacterial group. For example, some roseobacters can generate metabolic energy from light using the ancient purple bacterial mechanism of anaerobic photosynthesis without production of oxygen( anaerobic anoxygenic photosynthesis),while someroseobacters have the physiological metabolic traits of degradation of sulfur compounds or aromatics,oxidation of carbon monoxide,or reduction of trace metals,etc. Thus,it is considered that roseobacters may play important roles in marine carbon and sulfur cycles,as well as the global climate regulation. There are more than forty roseobacters whose whole genome sequences are available in the current public databases. Analysis of these genomes also reflected the metabolic versatility of the Roseobacter lineage. The cellular requirements of roseobacters for nitrogen are largely satisfied by regenerated ammonium and organic compounds( polyamines,allophanate,and urea),while the requirement for carbon sources are satisfied by amino acids,glyoxylate,and aromatic metabolites. Also,a large number of genes are predicted to encode proteins involved in the production,degradation,and efflux of toxins and metabolites,suggesting the potential for interacting with neighboring cells and impacting the routing of organic matter into the microbial loop. Laboratory experiments found that the various bioactive secondary metabolites of roseobacters include antagonist against fish larval bacterial pathogens,antibiotic against marine bacteria and algae,shellfish poison,and the bioactive LuxR- activating acylated homoserine lactones( AHLs),which are a class of signaling molecules involved in bacterial quorum sensing,etc. Recently,the interactions between roseobacters and their phages caused widespread attention. Several host-phage interaction systems of the roseobacters were set up in the laboratory. Laboratory experiments revealed that roseophages play important roles in mediating the physiology and promoting the evolution of roseobacters in marine environment. This review described the recent research progresses of Roseobacter lineage in terms of their ecological distribution,lifestyle,physiological functions,and genome features. Finally we suggested future research directions based on our understanding of the literature and our own work.

Saxitoxin.

The paralytic agent (+)-saxitoxin (STX), most commonly associated with oceanic red tides and shellfish poisoning, is a potent inhibitor of electrical conduction in cells. Its nefarious effects result from inhibition of voltage-gated sodium channels (Na(V)s), the obligatory proteins responsible for the initiation and propagation of action potentials. In the annals of ion channel research, the identification and characterization of Na(V)s trace to the availability of STX and an allied guanidinium derivative, tetrodotoxin. The mystique of STX is expressed in both its function and form, as this uniquely compact dication boasts more heteroatoms than carbon centers. This Review highlights both the chemistry and chemical biology of this fascinating natural product, and offers a perspective as to how molecular design and synthesis may be used to explore Na(V) structure and function.

Paralytic shellfish poisoning.

Kabuklu deniz hayvanlarinin tuketimine bagli olarak gelisen zehirlenmelerin icinde en yuksek olum oranini paralitik kaynakli zehirlenmesi olusturmaktadir. Paralitik gida zehirlenmesi, filtrasyon yoluyla toksini bunyelerine alan kabuklularin tuketimiyle vucuda alinan toksinlerin etkisini cok kisa surede gostermesi ve etkili bir tani ve tedavi edilmezse 24 saat icinde olumle sonuclanan tablolara sebebiyet vermesinden dolayi halk sagligi acisindan oldukca onemli bir konumdadir. Ilk kez Saxidomus giganteus isimli midyede belirlendigi icin ismi saksitoksin olarak tanimlanmistir. Toksinin pisirme, isitma, dondurma, buhar uygulamasi gibi islemlerden etkilenmemesi halk sagligi acisindan onemini arttirmaktadir. Ayrica toksin tasiyan dinoflagellatlarin suda yasamalari icin optimum sartlar saglandiginda sayilarini hizli bir sekilde artirarak su ve cevre kirliligine neden olmaktadirlar. Insan sagligi yaninda cevre sagligi ve sularda yasayan diger canlilarin sagligini da olumsuz etkilemektedirler. Bu noktadan yola cikarak bu derlemede toksinin genel ozellikleri, toksini tasiyan canlilar, biyotransformasyonu, analiz yontemleri, detoksifikasyonu gibi halk ve cevre sagligini ilgilendiren konular hakkinda bilgi verilmistir

Derivatization of azaspiracid biotoxins for analysis by liquid chromatography with fluorescence detection

Azaspiracids (AZAs) are an important group of regulated lipophilic biotoxins that cause shellfish poisoning. Currently, the only widely available analytical method for quantitation of AZAs is liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry (LC–MS). Alternative methods for AZA analysis are needed for detailed characterization work required in the preparation of certified reference materials (CRMs) and by laboratories not equipped with LC–MS. Chemical derivatization of the amine and carboxyl groups on AZAs was investigated for the purpose of facilitating analysis by LC with fluorescence detection (FLD). Experiments towards chemical modification of AZA1 at the amine achieved only limited success. Derivatization of the carboxyl group, on the other hand, proved successful using the 9-anthryldiazomethane (ADAM) method previously applied to the okadaic acid (OA) group toxins. Extraction and clean-up methods were investigated for shellfish tissue samples and a post-reaction solid phase extraction procedure was developed for the AZA ADAM derivatives. Chromatographic separations were developed for the LC-FLD analysis of derivatized AZAs alone or in the presence of other derivatized toxins. This new analytical method for analysis of AZAs enabled verification of AZA1–3 concentrations in recently certified reference materials. The method demonstrated good linearity, repeatability and accuracy showing its potential as an alternative to LC–MS for measurement of AZAs.

Single-laboratory validation of the microplate receptor binding assay for paralytic shellfish toxins in shellfish.

A single-laboratory validation (SLV) study was conducted for the microplate receptor binding assay (RBA) for paralytic shellfish poisoning (PSP) toxins in shellfish. The basis of the assay is the competition between [3H]saxitoxin (STX) and STX in a standard or sample for binding to the voltage dependent sodium channel. A calibration curve is generated by the addition of 0.01-1000 nM STX, which results in the concentration dependent decrease in [3H]STX-receptor complexes formed and serves to quantify STX in unknown samples. This study established the LOQ, linearity, recovery, accuracy, and precision of the assay for determining PSP toxicity in shellfish extracts, as performed by a single analyst on multiple days. The standard curve obtained on 5 independent days resulted in a half-maximal inhibition (IC50) of 2.3 nM STX +/- 0.3 (RSD = 10.8%) with a slope of 0.96 +/- 0.06 (RSD = 6.3%) and a dynamic range of 1.2-10.0 nM. The LOQ was 5.3 microg STX equivalents/100 g shellfish. Linearity, established by quantification of three levels of purified STX (1.5, 3, and 6 nM), yielded an r2 of 0.97. Recovery from mussels spiked with three levels (40, 80, and 120 microg STX/100 g) averaged 121%. Repeatability (RSD(r)), determined on six naturally contaminated shellfish samples on 5 independent days, was 17.7%. A method comparison with the AOAC mouse bioassay yielded r2 = 0.98 (slope = 1.29) in the SLV study. The effects of the extraction method on RBA-based toxicity values were assessed on shellfish extracted for PSP toxins using the AOAC mouse bioassay method (0.1 M HCI) compared to that for the precolumn oxidation HPLC method (0.1% acetic acid). The two extraction methods showed linear correlation (r2 = 0.99), with the HCl extraction method yielding slightly higher toxicity values (slope = 1.23). A similar relationship was observed between HPLC quantification of the HCI- and acetic acid-extracted samples (r2 = 0.98, slope 1.19). The RBA also had excellent linear correlation with HPLC analyses (r2 = 0.98 for HCl, r2 = 0.99 for acetic acid), but gave somewhat higher values than HPLC using either extraction method (slope = 1.39 for HCl extracts, slope = 1.32 for acetic acid). Overall, the excellent linear correlations with the both mouse bioassay and HPLC method and sufficient interassay repeatability suggest that the RBA can be effective as a high throughput screen for estimating PSP toxicity in shellfish.

Differential changes of neuroactive amino acids in samples obtained from discrete rat brain regions after systemic administration of saxitoxin

Aspartic acid, glutamic acid, γ-amino-n-butyric acid (GABA) and 2-aminoethanesulfonic acid are neuroactive amino acids. They are found in the central rat nervous system. Here, we have studied if a relationship exists between the presence of saxitoxin (STX) a paralytic poisoning shellfish (PSP) and the neuroactive amino acids. Samples of striatum (S), hypothalamus (H), mid brain (MB), frontal cortex (FC), brain stem (BS), right hemisphere (RH) and left hemisphere (LH) of rat brain were collected and analyzed for neuroactive amino acids (AAn t) by Aswad method (1984). Experiments, consisting of intraperitoneal injection of SXT (5 and 10 μg kg −1 body weight) to young male rats, evoked significant changes in AAn t above basal values. Aspartic and glutamic acid significantly increased for RH and LH (after 30 min the increased was 116% and 210%, P ≤ 0.001 over basal values, respectively). On the other hand, aspartic, glutamic, taurine and GABA significantly decreased for S (after 30 min the decreased was 77.4%; 84%; 93.8% and 95.3%, P ≤ 0.001 over basal values, respectively). These results suggest that STX alters AAn t. It is produced at least in part, because STX blocks voltage-gated sodium channels and this blockade could decrease AAn t release by exocytotic dependent mechanism of depolarization.

Linking the oceans to public health: current efforts and future directions

We review the major linkages between the oceans and public health, focusing on exposures and potential health effects due to anthropogenic and natural factors including: harmful algal blooms, microbes, and chemical pollutants in the oceans; consumption of seafood; and flooding events. We summarize briefly the current state of knowledge about public health effects and their economic consequences; and we discuss priorities for future research.We find that:• There are numerous connections between the oceans, human activities, and human health that result in both positive and negative exposures and health effects (risks and benefits); and the study of these connections comprises a new interdisciplinary area, "oceans and human health."• The state of present knowledge about the linkages between oceans and public health varies. Some risks, such as the acute health effects caused by toxins associated with shellfish poisoning and red tide, are relatively well understood. Other risks, such as those posed by chronic exposure to many anthropogenic chemicals, pathogens, and naturally occurring toxins in coastal waters, are less well quantified. Even where there is a good understanding of the mechanism for health effects, good epidemiological data are often lacking. Solid data on economic and social consequences of these linkages are also lacking in most cases.• The design of management measures to address these risks must take into account the complexities of human response to warnings and other guidance, and the economic tradeoffs among different risks and benefits. Future research in oceans and human health to address public health risks associated with marine pathogens and toxins, and with marine dimensions of global change, should include epidemiological, behavioral, and economic components to ensure that resulting management measures incorporate effective economic and risk/benefit tradeoffs.

Protecting Ourselves from Shellfish Poisoning

Protecting Ourselves from Shellfish Poisoning

Protecting Ourselves from Shellfish Poisoning

Protecting Ourselves from Shellfish Poisoning

Nitrate and phosphate supplementation to increase toxin production by the marine dinoflagellate Alexandrium tamarense

Alexandrium tamarense toxins have great value in biotechnology research as well as important in connection with shellfish poisoning. The influence of nitrate or nitrate and phosphate supplementation on cell biomass and toxin content were investigated in batch cultures. When cultures at low nitrate (88.2 μM NaNO 3) were supplemented with 793.8 μM NaNO 3 at day 10 the cell density and cellular toxin contents were increased by 6–29% and 20–76%, respectively, compared with controls, and maximal values were 43,600 cells/ml (day 38) and 0.91 pg/cell (day 31). Supplementation with nitrate at day 14 or with nitrate and phosphate at day 10/14 to the cultures did not increase the cell density compared with the non-supplemented middle nitrate or high phosphate (108 μM NaH 2PO 4) cultures, respectively, but increased the cellular toxin contents by an average of 52%. The results showed that supplementation with nitrate or with nitrate and phosphate at different growth phases of the cultures increased toxin yield by an average of 46%. Supplementation with nitrate at selected times to maintain continuous low level of nitrate might contribute to the effective increase of toxin yield of A. tamarense.

Prorocentrum minimum (Pavillard) Schiller : A review of a harmful algal bloom species of growing worldwide importance

Prorocentrum minimum (Pavillard) Schiller, a common, neritic, bloom-forming dinoflagellate, is the cause of harmful blooms in many estuarine and coastal environments. Among harmful algal bloom species, P. minimum is important for the following reasons: it is widely distributed geographically in temperate and subtropical waters; it is potentially harmful to humans via shellfish poisoning; it has detrimental effects at both the organismal and environmental levels; blooms appear to be undergoing a geographical expansion over the past several decades; and, a relationship appears to exist between blooms of this species and increasing coastal eutrophication. Although shellfish toxicity with associated human impacts has been attributed to P. minimum blooms from a variety of coastal environments (Japan; France; Norway; Netherlands; New York, USA), only clones isolated from the Mediterranean coast of France, and shellfish exposed to P. minimum blooms in this area, have been shown to contain a water soluble neurotoxic component which killed mice. Detrimental ecosystem effects associated with blooms range from fish and zoobenthic mortalities to shellfish aquaculture mortalities, attributable to both indirect biomass effects (e.g., low dissolved oxygen) and toxic effects. P. minimum blooms generally occur under conditions of high temperatures and incident irradiances and low to moderate salinities in coastal and estuarine environments often characterized as eutrophic, although they have been found under widely varying salinities and temperatures if other factors are conducive for growth. The physiological flexibility of P. minimum in response to changing environmental parameters (e.g., light, temperature, salinity) as well as its ability to utilize both inorganic and organic nitrogen, phosphorus, and carbon nutrient sources, suggest that increasing blooms of this species are a response to increasing coastal eutrophication.