Ecology Monitor

Friday, June 30, 2006

Massive algae bloom swirls off Island coast






Massive algae bloom swirls off Island coast
BY MATT HARTLEY Times Colonist staff
Times-Colonist, Victoria
29 Jun 2006

Scientists are worried that global warming might have contributed to creating an algae bloom off the west coast of Vancouver Island that is so big it can be seen from space. At the Institute of Ocean Sciences in North Saanich, researchers are tracking the swirling mass that runs the length of the Island’s west coast. They believe it consists mainly of coccolithophore, a naturally occurring, single-cell phytoplankton.
It’s the biggest algae bloom institute physicist Jim Gowen has seen.
“The bloom is good in that it means there are lots of nutrients out there for things to grow,” he said. “But what we’re worried about is that if global warming is going to really kick in and start warming everything up, then the prediction has to be that we’ll see more of these things more often. It’s certainly worrying when you see the biggest one, because you think that it’s a sign things are getting worse.”
The bloom first appeared as a small patch in Barkley Sound on June 21, Gowen said, and is concentrated about 15 kilometres off the west shore of the Island. Warm weather and sunshine are ideal bloom-creating conditions, making them a common summer occurrence in waters off the Island.
Red tide is another form of algae bloom; it carries the paralytic shellfishpoisoning toxin, or PSP. An outbreak of red tide has closed bivalve shellfish harvesting operations on much of Vancouver Island and the Gulf Islands.
Species of algae are blooming in record numbers in waters around Vancouver Island. “Basically, this bright green bloom is just the latest symptom of this strong growth this summer,” Gowen said. “It’s probably not a very dangerous one although there are almost certainly some harmful species in amongst it.” Gowen said there are no known records of coccolithophores, likely the most plentiful species of algae in the bloom, harming fish or ... read more...