Comparison of phycotoxin composition and distribution in toxigenic plankton from the north and south Atlantic

Two oceanographic surveys for toxigenic phytoplankton in the South and North Atlantic Ocean, including the adjacent Irminger Sea and the Arctic coasts of Greenland and Iceland, were conducted for analysis of putative toxic microalgal species and their respective toxins. During both expeditions, plankton was sampled by phytoplankton net (20 μm mesh) vertical hauls with subsequent size-fractionation, and by filtration of Niskin bottle water samples from discrete depths. In addition, sediment samples at selected stations were taken for identification and analysis of organic-walled dinoflagellate cysts (dinocysts). Among the toxins detected in both areas were domoic acid (DA), pectenotoxins (PTXs), yessotoxin (YTX), and paralytic shellfish toxins (PSTs). In addition, in the northern hemisphere, dinophysistoxins (DTXs) and spirolides were present, but these toxins were not found in Argentinean waters. In the sediments of San Jorge Gulf of Argentina, cysts of the dinoflagellate species Alexandrium tamarense and Protoceratium reticulatum were found, and their respective toxins (PSTs and YTX) were associated with the planktonic samples from the same stations.