Publication Date:
2022-05-25
Description:
Author Posting. © Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom, 2015. This is the author's version of the work. It is posted here by permission of Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 96 (2016): 61-91, doi:10.1017/S0025315415001733.
Description:
Microalgal blooms are a natural part of the seasonal cycle of photosynthetic organisms in marine ecosystems. They are key
components of the structure and dynamics of the oceans and thus sustain the benefits that humans obtain from these aquatic
environments. However, some microalgal blooms can cause harm to humans and other organisms. These harmful algal
blooms (HABs) have direct impacts on human health and negative influences on human wellbeing, mainly through their consequences
to coastal ecosystem services (valued fisheries, tourism and recreation) and other marine organisms and environments.
HABs are natural phenomena, but these events can be favoured by anthropogenic pressures in coastal areas. Global
warming and associated changes in the oceans could affect HAB occurrences and toxicity as well, although forecasting the
possible trends is still speculative and requires intensive multidisciplinary research. At the beginning of the 21st century,
with expanding human populations, particularly in coastal and developing countries, there is an urgent need to prevent
and mitigate HABs’ impacts on human health and wellbeing. The available tools to address this global challenge include
maintaining intensive, multidisciplinary and collaborative scientific research, and strengthening the coordination with stakeholders,
policymakers and the general public. Here we provide an overview of different aspects to understand the relevance
of the HABs phenomena, an important element of the intrinsic links between oceans and human health and wellbeing.
Description:
The research was funded in part by the UK Medical Research
Council (MRC) and UK Natural Environment Research
Council (NERC) for the MEDMI Project; the National
Institute for Health Research Health Protection Research
Unit (NIHR HPRU) in Environmental Change and Health
at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine in
partnership with Public Health England (PHE), and in collaboration
with the University of Exeter, University College
London and the Met Office; and the European Regional
Development Fund Programme and European Social Fund
Convergence Programme for Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly
(University of Exeter Medical School).
EB was supported by the CTM2014-53818-R project, from
the Spanish Government (MINECO). KDA was in receipt of
funding from the BBSRC-NERC research programme for
multidisciplinary studies in sustainable aquaculture: health,
disease and the environment. P. Hess was supported by
Ifremer (RISALTOX) and the Regional Council of the Pays
de la Loire (COSELMAR). Porter Hoagland was supported
by the US National Science Foundation under NSF/CNH
grant no. 1009106.
Description:
2016-05-20
Keywords:
Harmful algal blooms
;
Human health and wellbeing
;
Marine biotoxins
;
Ecosystem services
Repository Name:
Woods Hole Open Access Server
Type:
Preprint
Format:
application/pdf
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