THE HARMFUL IMPACT ON ALGAL BLOOMS BY NUTRIENT SOURCES AND CONSEQUENCES FOR EUTROPHICATION

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1 International Journal of Production Technology and Management (IJPTM) Volume 6, Issue 2, July-Dec 2015, pp , Article ID: IJPTM_06_02_004 Available online at ISSN Print: and ISSN Online: 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 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 21 editor@iaeme.com

2 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 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 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 22 editor@iaeme.com

3 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 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 23 editor@iaeme.com

4 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 editor@iaeme.com

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