International Journal of Production Technology and Management (IJPTM)
Volume 6, Issue 2, July-Dec 2015, pp. 21-25, Article ID: IJPTM_06_02_004
Available online at
http://www.iaeme.com/IJPTM/issues.asp?JType=IJPTM&VType=6&IType=2
ISSN Print: 0976- 6383 and ISSN Online: 0976 – 6391
© IAEME Publication
THE HARMFUL IMPACT ON ALGAL
BLOOMS BY NUTRIENT SOURCES AND
CONSEQUENCES FOR EUTROPHICATION
K. Palanichamy, D. Immanuel Thiagarajan and Surshpattabiraman
Professor, Marine Engineering, AMET University
ABSTRACT
Naturally algal blooms considered to have toxic/harmful effects, though it
has become global problem of harmful algal blooms (HABs) over the past
several decades. The management of such harmful resource sorts the
relationship the HABs and eutorphication in coastal waters by human
activities based on nutrient sources. These nutrient sources are stimulated
from the sewage, atmospheric deposition as well as agricultural, aquaculture
runoff and discharge which has phosphorous, nitrogen for phytoplankton
production such as harmful algal blooms leading to harmful impact to
fisheries and human health. Although nutrient enrichment has a strong
evidence for the stimulation of some harmful species which are not consider as
factors. The overall effect of nutrient enrichment on harmful algal species is
clearly determined that they are species-specific. This paper is reviewed to
note for the relationships between HABs and eutrophication, focusing on the
nutrient sources and its loading effect and reduction to understand the
nutrient enriching pathway for HABs species. Along with this uncertain
information are required in further research.
Key words: Algal Blooms, Eutrophication, Nutrients.
Cite this Article: K. Palanichamy, D. Immanuel Thiagarajan and
Surshpattabiraman. The Harmful Impact on Algal Blooms By Nutrient
Sources and Consequences For Eutrophication, International Journal of
Production Technology and Management, 6(2), 2015, pp. 21-25.
http://www.iaeme.com/IJPTM/issues.asp?JType=IJPTM&VType=6&IType=2
1. INTRODUCTION
Algal blooms influencing toxic effect is a natural phenomenon which leads to
discolored water and poisonous shellfish. The aspect of harmful incidence of blooms
which is harmful to planktons for the synthesizing of photosynthesis and
zooplanktons was seemed to unsolved for past several decades in coastal regions
throughout the world. Such incidence are commonly called as red tides, now grouped
under harmful algal blooms (HABs), having a unique feature like harmful by the toxin
production or damaging the physical structure of cell and alter the food web
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The Harmful Impact on Algal Blooms By Nutrient Sources and Consequences For
Eutrophication
ecosystem. Impact of the harmful incidence leads to human illness and death by
consumption of poisoned sea food, toxic exposure by inhalation and death of marine
animals. The high tolerance of the algal bloom distribution is associated with two
types of HABs:


The toxins produced by the algae which are linked to wild life death and non-toxic to
seafood but poisoning to humans by consumption.
Some HABs does not produce toxin, but cause harm by the development of high
biomass, oxygen depletion, destruction of water habitats under submerged vegetation.
Eutrophication is the natural aging process of aquatic ecosystems, where they
have poor or more nutrient rich in lakes for the plants and animals survive in them.
This aging process was mostly by the addition of more nutrients in ecosystem by
human activities for long generations. This was mostly enhanced by two human
derived nutrients like phosphorous (P) and nitrogen (N) both of these nutrients play a
major role in production and limiting of primary food for plankton in freshwater and
marine waters respectively. Beyond these nutrients, other nutrients such as silicon (Si)
and iron (Fe) also signifies the outcome of dominant species in abundance of
phytoplankton communities under cultural eutrophication condition. Therefore, it is
consider as a global problem which is existing for past several decades and made for
public perception. This problem brought a trend in coastal countries with multiple
harmful effects by toxic algal species. The reason for the HABs is mainly by the
discharge of industrial and agricultural run-off partly by domestic discharge. By
concerning those harmful effects, this paper review on the harmful algal blooms
(HABs) by source of nutrient loading and understanding the examples of specific,
regional and global examples of various relationships between HABs and ant its toxic
effect by the nutrients.
2. HABS ASSOCIATED WITH NUTRIENT SOURCES:
The water ecosystem get the nutrients either from point or non-point sources which
stimulate the growth of harmful algal blooms by animal waste, inflow of ground
water, agricultural and domestic discharge. Similarly, aquaculture industry and human
activities have a tremendous impact on the global cycle in coastal areas by exporting
the unnecessary nutrient sources in them. For instant, North-eastern coastal waters of
US is enriched with increase N by human activity. Generally, point sources cause less
abundance than non-point sources when consider on annual basis. Non-point sources
are basically from waste discharge of industrial, agricultural, fossil–fuel combustion.
2.1. Nutrient source from fertilizers:
Fertilizer application on land surface contributes a major source of non-point nutrient
sources in many geographical locations. These wastes are globally produced by using
in both industry and agriculture, where they have P and N with high rate in fertilizers
which they use. Though this form a direct relationship between fertilizer application
and N and P reverine fluxes. Nutrients run not only in quantity but along with the
composition for the HAB development, where nitrates from fertilizer consisting of
urea can travel long distances. When these nutrients are supplied to reach the rivers,
estuaries and coastal waters, they are uptake by planktons for their increased growth.
2.2. Nutrient source from ground water:
Ground water is also one of the important sources of nutrients which were loaded
largely by human population and agricultural practices into ground water and it has
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K. Palanichamy, D. Immanuel Thiagarajan and Surshpattabiraman
rooted to lakes, estuaries and other water ecosystem which has the potential to affect
algal growth. This ground water is enormously enriched with P due to the septic
effluents which link to coastal areas with more complexity effects.
2.3. Nutrient source from aquaculture system
Aquaculture system also represented as one of the nutrient source, where they provide
these nutrients from fertilizers or feed for the biological transformations for high yield
of biomass. The cultured animals take only fraction of their food and remaining gets
decomposed in water. So the decomposed food enriched with nutrients supports the
harmful species by stimulating phytoplankton growth.
Benthic nutrient regeneration from feces and decomposing feed acts as sustained
nutrient source commonly found in lagoons by human activity for the maximum
frequency of algal blooms. As in this case the increase in loading of nutrient leads to
increased phytoplankton productivity in coastal waters, but it naturally depends on the
impact of toxic substance which associates the toxic species. Hence, many researches
were achieved to eradicate the effect of harmful nutrient sources by plankton species
on the water ecosystem, but it was failed due to insufficient growth and lack of its
reproductive system.
3. HABS DEVELOPMENT ASSOCITED WITH INDIRECT
LINKAGE
Over enrichment of nutrients results in undesirable levels of algal blooms, which can
be easily identified by the direct nutrient linkage responsible for high algal blooms,
oxygen depletion and massive fish killing. But, the impact of nutrient pollution from
unknown point sources cannot be identified easily though they are indirectly linked to
the HABs development. So, it is difficult to control the indirect chronic impact of
HABs. Indirect nutrient loading occurs from atmospheric deposition contains
nutrients along acid imparting substances and toxic such as pesticides, agriculture
runoff which carries sediment contaminants. The microbial pathogens are exclusively
grown from nutrients enriched with heavy metals, estrogen-mimic substances, other
toxic suspended solids from human sewage and animal wastes are found in excessive.
Excessive nutrients and disease in sensitive grazing fauna indirectly help to promote
the growth of harmful algae which facilitate to weaken the fishes.
In turbid lakes and reservoirs sediment loading system is found to have related
with rapid flushing rates, where high P cannot support blooming of phytoplanktons
due to limited light availability. Where, under this condition cyanobacteria grow to
take advantage over the phytoplanktons to balance the nutrient stimulation. Similar
observations were made in many coastal and estuaries they proved that limited light
can prevent the complete utilization of supplied nutrients to the phytoplanktons.
Several investigations have been handled to reduce the HABs impact. Such one of
the example, the HAB development results in releasing DON following N-fixing. So
it can be identified by the same model possessed by the cyanobacteria Trichodesmium
which reports to correlate the increased development dinoflagellate (e.g. Dinophysis)
in off coast regions of Australia. Another example of indirect stimulation of HAB
species by nutrients is identified by ichthyotoxic dinoflagellate (P. piscicida) by
nontoxic zoospores as the precursors for toxic zoospores.
4. RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN NUTRIENTS AND TOXICITY
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The Harmful Impact on Algal Blooms By Nutrient Sources and Consequences For
Eutrophication
The increased growth and accumulation of HAB cells evidences in higher nutrient
employed to produce toxins due to change in their nutrient ratios even under noneutrophic condition. Therefore, nutrients play a major role in toxicity regulation in
HABs development by increasing or decreasing the nutrient limits. From one of the
study, A. tamarense produces saxitoxin which is higher in P-limited with N-limited
cells. Similarly, another study showing Pseudo-nitzschia produces domoic acid in
multi-series which is inversely correlated with the batch culture of ambient Si
concentration. This study results in partial or total depletion rate of si by accumulation
of toxins by the cells. Finally it was concluded that toxins produce at p-deficient
condition and no toxin at n-limitation.
The production of toxicity from the HABs species has some reasons like:


Some HAB species produce toxins varying significantly by different degrees with
types of nutrient limitation.
The other reason behind this problem is the chemical form of the supplied nutrient
has the effect of HAB species to produce toxins.
The ecological implications of nutrient effects seem to be more significant for the
toxicity production. But, still is not clear to find the regular pathway for inducing the
HAB species producing toxic which is harmful for human health, fisheries and
ecological impact. This is one of most important prospect to further research insight
of HABs with nutrients in toxic production to manage coastal resources.
5. LINKAGE OF NUTRIENT ENRICHMENT APPARENT TO
HABS
A common assumption was made by the public and media; however they linked this
problem to pollution by increase in nutrients results in algal blooms. Therefore, on
other hand, it was linked between eutrophication and blooms. But it need to be clear
that these are not apparently linked for the algal blooms still some other factors are
behind the outbreak of HABs and that relationships are yet to be identified. Yes, it has
been true made by some study over the outbreak of blooms, such study describes that
Alexdandrium species produces PSP toxins relatively a great problem for last several
decades in Gulf of Marine as well in Alaska of west coastal regions of U.S. These
species increases its effect in and around the areas by increased cyst formation which
was transported by natural storms and currents for the deposition and cyst
colonization in other areas. This situation was arisen due to the increased nutrient
loading with composition influencing growth factors and secondary compounds by
human activities.
6. CONCLUSION
Eutrophication is a global problem around the world particularly in coastal areas. This
paper reviews on the direct stimulation of HAB nutrient enrichment and its pathway
to regulate the harmful blooms. It was clear that it is more important to recognize the
effects of nutrient loading factors like composition, time, physical environment
features at different places. Although there have been many successesive studies
related to the nutrient loading capacity and outbreak of HABs by development of
harmful blooms, nutrient enrichment and toxicity of blooms remains poor in
understanding. Still many researches are in progress in world targeting eutrophic
ecosystem and altered nutrient loadings will give better understanding to direct or
indirect relationship to control this complicated problem in future.
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K. Palanichamy, D. Immanuel Thiagarajan and Surshpattabiraman
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