Co-Convenors:
Mark Wells (USA)
Mitsutaku Makino (Japan)
Invited Speakers:
Lorraine C. Backer (Center for Disease Control, GA, USA)
Takashi Kamiyama (Tohoku National Fisheries Research Institute, FRA, Japan)
Harmful algal blooms (HABs) comprise a spectrum of ecological, economic, and human health impacts. High biomass phytoplankton blooms in coastal and shelf waters, most often stemming from anthropogenic inputs of macronutrients, can massively shift ecosystem structure away from the support of higher trophic levels, lead to hypoxia and associated ecological impacts in deep waters, and thereby dramatically affect the human dimension. Smaller biomass blooms of toxic cells can selectively impair ecosystem components, decimate aquaculture industry success, or substantially impact human health. In some instances there are clear effects from direct human activity on HAB development; in others the oceanographic conditions regulate the success of harmful species. Despite the obvious relationship between HABs and human wellness, there has been little formalized linkage between ecological and human wellness research. This topic session is aimed at initiating this linkage by stimulating the cross-thinking needed to better assess human-HAB interactions. Presentations are invited on the distributions and character of HAB events, particularly for PICES member countries and their national interests, and the potential social-economic consequences of these societally-defined (harmful) algal bloom events. This session will provide the foundation for more coordinated efforts between the HAB and Human Dimension Sections to generate inputs useful to Ecosystem Based Management activities, and to guide goals for the FUTURE program.
