Publication Date:
2019-07-17
Description:
From the German Bight along Jutland to the western Skagerrak, we found representatives
of almost all groups of phycotoxins known to occur in North Sea plankton.
Identification was by liquid chromatography coupled to tandem mass spectrometry
(LC-MS/MS) in plankton size fractions, with domoic acid and 20-me G the most
abundant toxins. The dominance of 20-me G in the spirolide (SPX) composition of
plankton from the Jutland current system matched very well with that of an isolate of
the dinoflagellate Alexandrium ostenfeldii. The SPXs of the A. ostenfeldii strain
S6_P12_E11, previously isolated from the western North Sea along the Scottish
coast, comprised 100% 20-me G, suggesting toxin homogeneity among North Sea
populations of this species. We detected highest amounts of azaspiracid-1 in the
3–20-mm size fraction at offshore stations, where the Jutland coastal current converges
with the westward North Sea flow off Skagerrak. Azadinium spinosum was subsequently
identified by clonal isolation from crude cultures established from these stations.
Except for lipophilic toxins usually produced by the dinoflagellate Dinophysis spp.,
dinophysistoxin-1 (DTX-1) and DTX-2, we detected no other phycotoxins in plankton
from the southern German Bight. The spatial distribution of the phycotoxins in
the eastern North Sea was apparently related to the hydrographical conditions, identified
from salinity and coloured dissolved organic matter profiles. The biogeographical
distribution of phycotoxins indicates a strong association with the northward advection
by the Jutland current and the mixing of German Bight and North water masses
along the northwest Danish coast towards the Skagerrak.
Repository Name:
EPIC Alfred Wegener Institut
Type:
Article
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isiRev
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