Paralytic Shellfish Poisoning on Georges Bank: In situ Growth or Advection ofEstablished Dinoflagellate Populations. (Reannouncement with New Availability Information)

摘要

Evidence is presented that the alongshore progression of paralytic shellfishpoisoning (PSP) in the southern Gulf of Maine in 1990 was due to the southward movement of a buoyant plume of lower salinity water and its associated population of the dinoflagellate Alexandrium tamarense, originating In the Androscoggin and Kennebec River outflow. The movement of this plume into and across Massachusetts Bay is documented by hydrographic cruise transects and by moored observations of salinity and temperature. Thes data are consistent with the hypothesized link between shellfish PSP toxicity in offshore waters of Georges Bank and the long distance transport of the buoyant plume. These results also suggest a pathway by which human contaminants in riverine flows can travel across large distances to Impact the rich offshore fisheries of the Gulf of Maine.