Influence of environmental factors on the toxin production of Ostreopsis cf. ovata during bloom events

Intense blooms of the toxic dinoflagellate Ostreopsis have been a recurrent phenomenon along several Mediterranean coasts. Blooms have been associated with noxious effects on human health and mortality of marine organisms, due to the production of palytoxin-like compounds. We analyzed the toxin concentrations throughout an O. cf. ovata bloom to highlight their relationships with environmental parameters in the Conero Riviera, northern Adriatic Sea. High temperature and balanced nutrient conditions were the optimal environmental conditions to start and sustain blooms as well as to maximize toxin production. Ostreopsis showed a gradual decrease of toxin content throughout the bloom ascribed to the occurring of the same non-optimal conditions that led to the bloom decline. Moreover, our results suggest that toxin fraction released during bloom could be higher than that released in batch culture. Results from this study pointed out that the first bloom phase is potentially the most dangerous to human health.