B.C. scientists will be keeping a close eye on a toxic algae this summer as hundreds of sea lions, seabirds and dolphins have been washing up sick or dead on beaches in Southern California. Read More
Canada’s DFO says its marine biotoxin team is working to assess whether algae blooms with domoic acid are affecting marine animals off our coast.
Canada’s DFO says its marine biotoxin team is working to assess whether algae blooms with domoic acid are affecting marine animals off our coast.
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B.C. scientists will be keeping a close eye on a toxic algae this summer as hundreds of sea lions, seabirds and dolphins have been washing up sick or dead on beaches in Southern California.
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The toxin responsible for the deaths of Californian marine mammals is domoic acid, a neurotoxin produced by certain marine algae harmless to small fish and shellfish but can be deadly for larger marine animals, according to Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO), which is monitoring local sea life such as sea otters and orcas to find out if the toxin is present.
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These algae blooms with domoic acid aren’t a new phenomenon and occur in B.C. waters — particularly off Vancouver Island — in the spring and summer, but the difference is that the amount of the neurotoxin is increasing in the blooms of algae in California. Scientists aren’t sure why it’s increasing but have linked it to an upwelling of nutrients likely due to high winds blowing along the shore.
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While the high concentrations don’t appear to have spread to B.C., scientists are concerned this could become a future problem because algae blooms are becoming larger and more frequent because of climate change and ocean warming.
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The DFO has been monitoring domoic acid in B.C. since 2016, without any serious threats to marine mammals and seabirds. But this mass mortality event in California has them on alert.
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“Our marine biotoxin team is working with marine mammal scientists within and outside DFO to assess the potential impacts of domoic acid on local marine mammals, including sea otters and killer whales,” said Andrew Ross, a PhD research scientist who runs the marine biotoxin monitoring program at DFO’s Institute of Ocean Sciences in Sidney.
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“These relatively high concentrations are rare in B.C. coastal waters and we have not yet seen a mortality event like the ones that have been reported in California during the past four years or so,” said Ross.
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Ross said climate change and the associated warming of the ocean may result in conditions in B.C. coastal waters becoming more favourable for harmful algal blooms or the production of toxins like domoic acid in the future.
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Dr. Martin Haulena, head veterinarian and director of animal health at the Vancouver Aquarium, has studied past domoic acid outbreaks in California and he said they used to be smaller and more spread out.
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But the trend is increasing in terms of frequency and in terms of numbers of animals affected, he said, adding the technology to test the animals has also improved over the last few years.
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In California, the toxin may be accumulating over time in anchovies, which doesn’t affect the fish but can seriously harm or kill the sea lions and dolphins feeding on them, said Haulena. However, it can also accumulate in shellfish and that’s when sea otters get affected, he added.
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