ECOHAB-PNW and ORHAB: A Collaboration to understand the dynamics of Pseudo-nitzschia blooms on the west coast of Washington state

Nicolaus G. Adams^1,2, Barbara M. Hickey³, Sheryl A. Day² and Vera L. Trainer²

1 School of Aquatic and Fishery Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, 98195
2 NOAA Fisheries, Northwest Fisheries Science Center, Seattle, WA, 98112
3 School of Oceanography, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, 98195

The Ecology and Oceanography of Harmful Algal Blooms-Pacific Northwest (ECOHAB-PNW) project and the Olympic Region Harmful Algal Bloom (ORHAB) partnership, have formed a strong synergy that will allow researchers and managers to better understand the dynamics of domoic acid-producing Pseudo-nitzschia blooms that frequently occur on the coast of Washington State. ECOHAB-PNW will study the physiology, toxicology, ecology and oceanography of toxic Pseudo-nitzschia species off the Pacific Northwest coast, a region in which both macronutrient supply and current patterns are primarily controlled by seasonal coastal upwelling processes. Recent studies suggest that the seasonal Juan de Fuca eddy, a nutrient rich retentive feature off the Washington coast serves as a “bioreactor” for the growth of phytoplankton, including diatoms of the genus Pseudo-nitzschia. The ORHAB partnership was formed in June 1999, in response to seemingly random closures of the shellfisheries due to outbreaks of marine biotoxins. It became clear that in order to manage these outbreaks there was a need to better understand underlying dynamics of these disruptive HAB events. The goal of ORHAB is to develop a cost-effective monitoring program for HABs that will be taken over by state managers and tribes at the end of five years (2000-2005). Together, these two projects aim to understand the environmental conditions that initiate and maintain blooms of harmful species, develop a sampling program and models for the prediction and mitigation of HABs, and test and implement new technologies. ECOHAB-PNW is funded by NSF and NOAA under the ECOHAB program while the ORHAB partnership is funded by the NOAA National Center for Coastal Ocean Sciences (NCCOS) under the Monitoring and Event Response to Harmful Algal Blooms (MERHAB) program.