ECOHAB: Zooplankton Grazing of Toxic Alexandrium spp.as a Mechanism in the Control of Bloom Formation and Toxin Transfer

有毒亚历山大藻在缅因州湾，腰鞭毛虫每年都会引起麻痹性贝类毒素（PSP）的爆发，对公众健康构成威胁，并造成经济损失。研究了亚历山大藻的种群动态。目前知之甚少;为了了解和模拟这些动态的机制，允许水华形成的基本信息必须获得。这项研究将确定的作用，由占主导地位的浮游动物（桡足类）的有毒亚历山大藻种群动态。该研究将进行实验室实验，以阐明主要浮游动物物种的特定放牧行为的机制。还将在早期和定期出现高PSP水平的地点进行协调的现场实地研究，重点是春季水华开始的时期。

Toxic Alexandrium spp. dinoflagellates cause paralytic shellfish poison (PSP) outbreaks in the Gulf of Maine each year, posing a public health threat and resulting in economic loss. The population dynamics of Alexandrium spp. are at present poorly understood; in order to understand and model these dynamics basic information on the mechanisms that allow blooms to form must be obtained. This study will determine the role of grazing by the dominant zooplankton (copepods) in the population dynamics of toxic Alexandrium spp. The study will conduct laboratory experiments to elucidate the mechanisms responsible for specific grazing behavior of dominant zooplankton species. Coordinated in situ field studies focusing on the spring period of bloom initiation will also be conducted, at sites where high PSP levels occur early and regularly.