Abstract or Keywords
The majority of observations and discrete samplings for Karenia brevis blooms and related impacts are focused in the neritic zone since blooms occur throughout the water column. Far less sampling in the benthic zone has been conducted, thus the role of the benthos in bloom initiation and other key dynamics remains unknown. Recent evidence that similar species, including Karenia mikimotoi, produce resting stages has led to an increased interest in understanding the life cycle of K. brevis and thus the role that the benthic environment plays on initiation and termination of bloom events. This collaborative effort involves working directly with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission-Fish and Wildlife Research Institute's Harmful Algal Bloom (FWRI-HAB) group to investigate K brevis bloom and benthic coupling with the goals of 1) providing environmental context (sedimentology) of the benthos; 2 ) establishing baselines of K brevis bloom impacts/conditions in benthic environments (benthic foraminifera assessments); and 3) evaluating the historical context and flux rates (short lived radioisotopes). These collective goals are critical for laying the groundwork for a cyst or benthos monitoring program to aid in forecasting bloom dynamics, especially initiation and termination. Samples were collected by FWRI and collaborators on directed and routine FWRI-HAB sampling efforts, and analyses were performed at Eckerd College Galbraith Marine Science Laboratory which include the examination of surficial sediments, sediment trap material, and sediment cores. These efforts are critical to the advancement and enhancement of bloom modeling and prediction capabilities.