Project Details
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GOMTOX: Dynamics of Alexandrium fundyense Distributions in the Gulf of Maine: an Observational and Modeling Study of Nearshore and Offshore Shellfish Toxicity, Vertical Toxin Flux, and Bloom Dynamics in a Complex Shelf Sea |
Sponsor:
Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI)
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Collaborator: WHOI: Dennis McGillicuddy
Funding period: September 2006 - August 2011
Description
The Gulf of Maine and its adjacent southern New England shelf is a vast region with extensive shellfish resources, large portions of which are frequently contaminated with paralytic shellfish poisoning toxins produced by the dinoflagellate Alexandrium fundyense. There are significant challenges to the management of toxic shellfish in this poorly studied region, in particular the need to document the major transport pathways for A. fundyense, and to develop an understanding of the relationship between blooms in surface waters and environmental forcings, as well as linkages to toxicity patterns in nearshore and offshore shellfish. An additional challenge is the need to expand modeling and forecasting capabilities to include the entire region, and to transition these tools to operational, management use.