Environmental, human health and socioeconomic impacts of Ostreopsis spp. blooms in the NW Mediterranean

Autor: Elisa Berdalet, Anne-Sophie Pavaux, Rafael Abós-Herràndiz, Muriel Travers, Gildas Appéré, Magda Vila, Jérémy Thomas, Luc de Haro, Marta Estrada, Noemí Inmaculada Medina-Pérez, Laia Viure, Bengt Karlson, Rodolphe Lemée
Přispěvatelé: European Commission, Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad (España), Generalitat de Catalunya, Universidad de Barcelona, Agencia Estatal de Investigación (España)
Rok vydání: 2021
Předmět:
Zdroj: Digital.CSIC. Repositorio Institucional del CSIC
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ISSN: 2014-5381
Popis: 16 pages, 4 figures, 6 tables, supplementary materials https://doi.org/10.1016/j.hal.2022.102320
This paper summarizes the research conducted by the partners of the EU co-funded CoCliME project to ascertain the ecological, human health and economic impacts of Ostreopsis (mainly O. cf. ovata) blooms in the NW Mediterranean coasts of France, Monaco and Spain. This knowledge is necessary to design strategies to prevent, mitigate and, if necessary, adapt to the impacts of these events in the future and in other regions. Ostreopsis proliferations in the Mediterranean have been related to massive mortalities of benthic organisms and to symptoms of respiratory and cutaneous irritation in humans. A six-year epidemiologic study in a Ostreopsis hot spot in Catalonia and the accumulated experience of the French Mediterranean National Ostreopsis Surveillance Network confirm the main effects of these blooms on human health in the NW Mediterranean. The impacts are associated to direct exposure to seawater with high Ostreopsis cell concentrations and to inhalation of aerosols containing unknown irritative chemicals produced under certain circumstances during the blooms. A series of mild acute symptoms, affecting the entire body as well as the ophthalmic, digestive, respiratory and dermatologic systems have been identified. A main remaining challenge is to ascertain the effects of the chronic exposure to toxic Ostreopsis blooms. Still, the mechanisms involved in the deletereous effects of Ostreopsis blooms are poorly understood. Characterizing the chemical nature of the harmful compounds synthesized by Ostreopsis as well as the role of the mucus by which cells attach to benthic surfaces, requires new technical approaches (e.g., metabolomics) and realistic and standardized ecotoxicology tests. It is also necessary to investigate how palytoxin analogues produced by O. cf. ovata could be transferred through the marine food webs, and to evaluate the real risk of seafood poisonings in the area. On the other hand, the implementation of beach monitoring and surveillance systems in the summer constitutes an effective strategy to prevent the impacts of Ostreopsis on human health. In spite of the confirmed noxious effects, a survey of tourists and residents in Nice and Monaco to ascertain the socioeconomic costs of Ostreopsis blooms indicated that the occurrence of these events and their impacts are poorly known by the general public. In relationship with a plausible near future increase of Ostreopsis blooms in the NW Mediterranean coast, this survey showed that a substantial part of the population might continue to go to the beaches during Ostreopsis proliferations and thus could be exposed to health risks. In contrast, some people would not visit the affected areas, with the potential subsequent negative impacts on coastal recreational and touristic activities. However, at this stage, it is too early to accurately assess all the economic impacts that a potentially increasing frequency and biogeographic expansion of the events might cause in the future
This study was supported by the project CoCliME (a part of ERA4CS, an ERA-NET initiated by JPI Climate, and funded by EPA -Ireland-, ANR -France-, BMBF -Germany-, UEFISCDI -Romania-, RCN -Norway- and FORMAS -Sweden-, with co-funding by the European, Union; Grant 6904462), endorsed to the international programme of IOC UNESCO and SCOR GlobalHAB (www.globalhab.info). The epidemiology studies were also funded by the project OstreoRisk (CTM2014-53818-R) of the Spanish Government (MINECO). N.I. M.-P. was granted by the Agency for Management of University and Research Grants (Government of Catalonia) and the University of Barcelona with a PhD FI-SDUR fellowship. [...] The ICM-CSIC is funded by the ‘Severo Ochoa Centre of Excellence’ accreditation of the Spanish “Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades”, 2020-2023 (CEX2019-000928-S)
Databáze: OpenAIRE
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