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Harmful algal blooms: mechanisms, monitoring, and prevention in a rapidly changing world
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Fish Kill Events in Singapore Coastal Waters Wednesday 9th @ 1050-1110, Multifunction Hall Sandric Chee Yew Leong* , St. John's Island National Marine Laboratory, Tropical Marine Science Institute, National University of Singapore Presenter Email: tmslcy@nus.edu.sg |
Southeast Asia (SEA) coastal environments are increasingly affected by regular harmful algal blooms (HABs). In Singapore, several HABs have caused massive fish kills and great economical losses. During early 2015, two major dinoflagellate blooms occurred along the north-eastern coast of Singapore and wiped out both farmed fish and wild fish. In 2016, a prolong dinoflagellate bloom of more than three months was observed. The increase in frequencies of HABs have led to enhanced interests in monitoring and detecting of such blooms. To better protect coastal economies and human health, improved HABs monitoring and prediction are necessary. Currently, there is an array of tools ranging from autonomous vehicles, portable instruments, optical sensors to remote sensing platforms that could be utilized for generating high-resolution data. These advanced technologies and tools are contributing to new and high-resolution data, which could be incorporated in models for predicting and forecasting bloom events. In the present study, an integrated approach involving laboratory analysis, advanced technique and tools was utilized to study and monitor HABs. High-resolution surface maps of blooms were generated using the measurements collected from an autonomous surface vehicle (ASV). Distinct biological and environmental patterns were observed from the ASV measurements. Portable molecular instruments were used and tested for detecting a targeted toxic dinoflagellate. We have successfully used real-time PCR method to detect dinoflagellate Karenia mikimotoi in the field. Nutrient supply was relatively high during the bloom period. In Singapore setting, blooms were generally formed during the neap tide and under favorable physical settings. The eutrophic conditions could be the driving force for bloom to be sustained along Johor Strait. Moreover, the variability of phytoplankton abundance in this area was significantly driven by nutrient and rainfall. |
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