{"id":780,"date":"2018-07-18T12:56:44","date_gmt":"2018-07-18T16:56:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www2.whoi.edu\/site\/andersonlab\/?page_id=780"},"modified":"2018-07-18T15:12:41","modified_gmt":"2018-07-18T19:12:41","slug":"gomtox","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www2.whoi.edu\/site\/andersonlab\/past-projects\/gomtox\/","title":{"rendered":"GOMTOX"},"content":{"rendered":"

GOMTOX<\/h1>\n

Dynamics of\u00a0Alexandrium fundyense<\/i>\u00a0distributions in the Gulf of Maine<\/strong><\/p>\n

An observational and modeling study of nearshore and offshore shellfish toxicity, vertical toxin flux, and bloom dynamics in a complex shelf sea.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Gulf of Maine (GoM) and its adjacent southern New England shelf is a vast region with extensive shellfish resources, large portions of which are frequently contaminated with paralytic shellfish poisoning (PSP) toxins produced by the dinoflagellate\u00a0Alexandrium fundyense. The year 2005 was an historical one for\u00a0A. fundyense\u00a0and PSP dynamics in this area, with a bloom that was more severe than any seen in the last thirty years. There are significant challenges to the management of toxic shellfish in this region – in particular the need to document the major transport pathways for\u00a0A. fundyense, and to develop an understanding of the relationship between blooms and environmental forcings, as well as linkages to toxicity patterns in nearshore and offshore shellfish. An additional challenge is to expand modeling and forecasting capabilities to include the entire region, and to transition these tools to operational, management use.<\/p>\n

The overall objective of this project is to establish a comprehensive regional-scale understanding of\u00a0Alexandrium fundyense\u00a0dynamics, transport pathways, and associated shellfish toxicity and to use this information and relevant technologies to assist managers, regulators, and industry to fully exploit nearshore and offshore shellfish resources threatened by PSP, with appropriate safeguards for human health.<\/strong><\/p>\n

GOMTOX will utilize a combination of large-scale survey cruises, autonomous gliders, moored instruments and traps, drifters, satellite imagery and numerical models to:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Investigate\u00a0A. fundyense\u00a0bloom dynamics and the pathways that link this organism to toxicity in both nearshore and offshore shellfish in the Gulf of Maine and southern New England shelf waters<\/li>\n
  2. Investigate the vertical structure of\u00a0A. fundyense\u00a0blooms in the study region, emphasizing the distribution of cells, zooplankton fecal pellets, other vectors for toxin, and their linkage to toxicity in offshore shellfish<\/li>\n
  3. Assess interannual to interdecadal variability in\u00a0A. fundyense\u00a0abundance and PSP toxicity<\/li>\n
  4. Incorporate field observations into a suite of numerical models for hindcasting and forecasting applications<\/li>\n
  5. Synthesize results and disseminate the information and technology, transitioning scientific and management tools to the regulatory community for operational use<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Relevant Publications<\/strong><\/p>\n

    Anderson, D.M., B.A. Keafer, D.J. McGillicuddy, M.J. Mickelson, K.E. Keay, P.S. Libby, J.P. Manning, C.A. Mayo, D.K. Whittaker, J.M. Hickey, R. He, D.R. Lynch, and K.W. Smith. 2005.\u00a0Initial observations of the 2005\u00a0Alexandrium fundyense\u00a0bloom in southern New England<\/a>: General patterns and mechanisms.\u00a0 Deep-Sea Res. II 52(19-21): 2856-2876.<\/p>\n

    Anderson, D.M., B.A. Keafer, W.R. Geyer, R.P. Signell, and T.C. Loder. 2005.\u00a0Toxic\u00a0Alexandrium<\/a>\u00a0blooms in the western Gulf of Maine:\u00a0 The plume advection hypothesis revisited. Limnol. Oceanogr. 50(1): 328-345.<\/p>\n

    Anderson, D.M., C.A. Stock, B.A. Keafer, A. Bronzino Nelson, B. Thompson, D.J. 2005. McGillicuddy, M. Keller, P.A. Matrai, and J. Martin.\u00a0\u00a0Alexandrium fundyense\u00a0cyst dynamics in the Gulf of Maine<\/a>. Deep-Sea Res. II 52(19-21): 2522-2542.<\/p>\n

    Anderson, D.M., D.M. Kulis, B.A. Keafer, K.E. Gribble, R. Marin, and C.A. Scholin. 2005. Identification and enumeration of\u00a0Alexandrium\u00a0spp. from the Gulf of Maine using molecular probes.\u00a0<\/a>Deep-Sea Res. II 52(19-21): 2467-2490.<\/p>\n

    Keafer, B.A., J.H. Churchill, D.J. McGillicuddy, and D.M. Anderson. 2005.\u00a0Bloom development and transport of toxic\u00a0Alexandrium fundyense\u00a0populations within a coastal plume in the Gulf of Maine<\/a>. Deep-Sea Res. II 52(19-21): 2674-2697.<\/p>\n

    Additional Information<\/strong><\/p>\n

    For more information on the GOMTOX project, including the full proposal and complete list of investigators, please follow the link below.
    \n\u00bb\u00a0    GOMTOX<\/a><\/p>\n

    \t\t\t\t
    \n\t\t\t\t\"A
    \n\t\t\t\t<\/a>
    \n\t\tA CTD to measure conductivity, temperature and density of seawater, is deployed from R\/V Endeavor during a GOMTOX cruise. The CTD is the primary tool for determining essential physical properties of seawater. (Photo by Keston Smith)
    \n\t\t\t\t
    \n\t\t\t\t\"R\/V
    \n\t\t\t\t<\/a>
    \n\t\tR\/V Tioga, WHOI’s coastal research vessel, is used for many of our shorter cruises. (Photo by Tom Kleindinst, WHOI)
    \n\t\t\t\t
    \n\t\t\t\t\"A
    \n\t\t\t\t<\/a>
    \n\t\tA CTD, to measure conductivity, temperature and density of seawater, is deployed from research vessel Oceanus during a harmful algal bloom cruise. The CTD is the primary tool for determining essential physical properties of seawater (Maureen Lynch, Colgate University)
    \n\t\t\t\t
    \n\t\t\t\t\"Researcher
    \n\t\t\t\t<\/a>
    \n\t\tResearcher Ben Haskell at work on the site of the Josephine Marie shipwreck at a depth of 100 feet. (M. Lawrence, SBNMS)<\/p>\n

    Related Links and File<\/h3>\n

    \u00bb\u00a0Research Projects Home<\/a><\/p>\n

    \u00bb\u00a0Mitigation of Harmful Algal Blooms Using Clay<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    GOMTOX Dynamics of\u00a0Alexandrium fundyense\u00a0distributions in the Gulf of Maine An observational and modeling study of nearshore and offshore shellfish toxicity, vertical toxin flux, and bloom dynamics in a complex shelf sea. The Gulf of Maine (GoM) and its adjacent southern New England shelf is a vast region with extensive shellfish resources, large portions of which…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"parent":713,"menu_order":9,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www2.whoi.edu\/site\/andersonlab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/780"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www2.whoi.edu\/site\/andersonlab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www2.whoi.edu\/site\/andersonlab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www2.whoi.edu\/site\/andersonlab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www2.whoi.edu\/site\/andersonlab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=780"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www2.whoi.edu\/site\/andersonlab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/780\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":788,"href":"https:\/\/www2.whoi.edu\/site\/andersonlab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/780\/revisions\/788"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www2.whoi.edu\/site\/andersonlab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/713"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www2.whoi.edu\/site\/andersonlab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=780"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}