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Pleurochrysis pseudoroscoffensis (Prymnesiophyceae) blooms on the surface of the Salton Sea, California

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Abstract

Dense populations of the coccolithophore Pleurochrysis pseudoroscoffensis were found in surface films at several locations around the Salton Sea in February–August, 1999. An unidentified coccolithophorid was also found in low densities in earlier studies of the lake (1955–1956). To our knowledge, this is the first record of this widespread marine species in any lake. Samples taken from surface films typically contained high densities of one or two other phytoplankton species as well as high densities of the coccolithophore. Presence or absence of specific algal pigments was used to validate direct cell counts. In a preliminary screen using a brine shrimp lethality assay, samples showed moderate activity. Extracts were then submitted to a mouse bioassay, and no toxic activity was observed. These results indicate that blooms of P. pseudoroscoffensis are probably not toxic to vertebrates and do not contribute to the various mortality events of birds and fish that occur in the Salton Sea.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biology and Center for Inland Waters, San Diego State University, San Diego, CA, 92182-4614, U.S.A.

    Kristen M. Reifel, Mary Ann Tiffany, Steven B. Barlow & Stuart H. Hurlbert

  2. Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California at San Diego, La Jolla, CA, 92093-0212, U.S.A.

    Michael P. McCoy & D. John Faulkner

  3. U.S. Geological Survey, Biological Resources Division, National Wildlife Health Center, 6006 Schroeder Road, Madison, WI, 53711, U.S.A.

    Tonie E. Rocke

  4. Center for Hydro-Optics and Remote Sensing, San Diego State University, 6505 Alvarado Road, Suite 206, San Diego, CA, 92120, U.S.A.

    Charles C. Trees

Authors
  1. Kristen M. Reifel
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  2. Michael P. McCoy
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  3. Mary Ann Tiffany
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  4. Tonie E. Rocke
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  5. Charles C. Trees
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  7. D. John Faulkner
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  8. Stuart H. Hurlbert
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Reifel, K.M., McCoy, M.P., Tiffany, M.A. et al. Pleurochrysis pseudoroscoffensis (Prymnesiophyceae) blooms on the surface of the Salton Sea, California. Hydrobiologia 466, 177–185 (2001). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1014551804059

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