Karenia Brevis Blooms on the West Florida Shelf: A Comparative Study of the Robust 2012 Bloom and the Nearly Null 2013 Event

Authors

Robert H. Weisberg, University of South FloridaFollow
Lianyuan Zheng, University of South Florida
Yonggang Liu, University of South FloridaFollow
Alina A. Corcoran, Fish & Wildlife Research Institute
Chad Lembke, University of South FloridaFollow
Chuanmin Hu, University of South FloridaFollow
Jason M. Lenes, University of South FloridaFollow
John J. Walsh, University of South FloridaFollow

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

6-2016

Keywords

anomalous upwelling, karenia brevis habs, red tide initiation, shelf water properties

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.csr.2016.03.011

Abstract

Harmful algal blooms of the dinoflagellate Karenia brevis require an upwelling circulation to manifest along the coastline of the West Florida Continental Shelf. Too much upwelling, however, can impede bloom formation by increasing inorganic nutrient levels to the point where faster growing phytoplankton such as diatoms may out-compete the slower growing K. brevis, as occurred in 1998 and 2010. Both 2012 and 2013 experienced persistent upwelling, but only 2012 exhibited a robust harmful algal bloom. Here we examine the subtle differences in the coastal ocean circulation between those two years that led to the disparate bloom evolutions.

Was this content written or created while at USF?

Yes

Citation / Publisher Attribution

Continental Shelf Research, v. 120, p. 106-121

Scholar Commons Citation

Weisberg, Robert H.; Zheng, Lianyuan; Liu, Yonggang; Corcoran, Alina A.; Lembke, Chad; Hu, Chuanmin; Lenes, Jason M.; and Walsh, John J., "Karenia Brevis Blooms on the West Florida Shelf: A Comparative Study of the Robust 2012 Bloom and the Nearly Null 2013 Event" (2016). Marine Science Faculty Publications. 272.
https://digitalcommons.usf.edu/msc_facpub/272