Hellenic Centre for Marine Research; Institute of Oceanography, more, partner
The project focuses on the fate of algal toxins from cyanobacteria (nodularin), haptophytes (ichthyotoxins), dinoflagellates (ichthyotoxins, paralytic Shellfish Poisoning (PSP), Diarrhoeic Shellfish Poisoning (DSP) and diatoms (Amnesic Shellfish Poisoning (ASP) at different tropic levels in the water column and at the water-sediment interface, and how the increase of Harmful Algal Bloom (HAB) toxin content in connection to eutrophication and unbalanced N: P ratios has affected the marine ecosystems. FATE will investigate different pathways of toxin transport i.e. if the algal cells are :
degraded in the water column by bacteria,
grazed by zooplankton and cultured shellfish in the water column orc) sink to the bottom and accumulate in benthic organisms e. g. shellfish.
Spraying clay and introducing mussel curtains in the water column will test small-scaled mitigation of HAB toxin transfer to aquaculture.
