Development ofan 'earlywarning system' for harmful algalblooms usingsolid-phase adsorption toxin tracking (SPATT)

Solid-phase adsorption toxintracking (SPATT)is foundedon theobservation thatwhenlowlevels oftoxic dinoflagellates arepresent inthewatercolumnsignificant amounts oftoxins aredissolved inseawater. Previous researchers demonstrated a lagbetweendetection ofdissolved toxins adsorbed ontoporoussynthetic resin, phytoplankton peakcell densities andhighest toxin concentrations inshellfish. Herewe report onoptimised protocols (resin type, typeandvolumeof solvent extraction) forSPATTandsubsequent field trials atLoch Ewe(Scotland) whichusedSPATTintheformofsuspended SEPABEADSRSP700heldwithin ameshsachet. Sachets were suspended at7m andretrieved weekly withnewonesputinand watersamples forphytoplankton collected. Phytoplankton cells wereidentified using conventional light microscopy. Theresin fromthemeshbagswasextracted andanalysed forlipophilic toxins using liquid chromatography withmassspectrometry (LC- MS).Results demonstrate thepotential ofSPATTtoprovide time integrated sampling tomonitor theoccurrence oftoxic events. IndexTerms-Diarrhetic shellfish poisoning (DSP)toxins, harmful algal blooms(HABs), lipophilic shellfish toxins (LST), phytoplankton, solid-phase adsorption toxin tracking (SPATT)