Biological and environmental hazards, risks, and disasters

Hazards and Disasters Series

Biological and
Environmental Hazards,
Risks, and Disasters
Series Editor

John F. Shroder

Emeritus Professor of Geography and Geology
Department of Geography and Geology
University of Nebraska at Omaha
Omaha, NE 68182

Volume Editor

Ramesh Sivanpillai

Senior Research Scientist
Department of Botany j WyGISC
University of Wyoming
Laramie, WY, 82071 USA

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For information on all Elsevier publications
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Cover Image courtesy: NASA

In memory of my mother T.V. Padmini
who inspired me through her love,
hard work and dedication
e Ramesh Sivanpillai


Title and Description of the
Cover Image

ALGAL BLOOM IN LAKE ERIE, USA
In October 2011, Lake Erie experienced its worst algal bloom in decades.
This image captured by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer
(MODIS) onboard the Aqua satellite on October 9 shows this bloom. The
Western basin of Lake Erie has witnessed many such blooms since 1950s due
to runoff from farms, and urban and industrialized areas. However, improvements in agriculture and sewage treatment in the 1970s have reduced
the number of blooms. Heavy snow in the fall of 2010 and the spring 2011,
followed by high rainfall led to increased runoff from crop fields, yards,
and built surfaces. This increased flow carried several pollutants including
phosphorus from fertilizers into streams and rivers resulting in this bloom
(Image source: NASA’s Earth Observatory, Toxic algae bloom in Lake
Erie, October 14, 2011, />id¼76127). Also Chapter 2 (in this volume), “Algal Blooms,” provides
additional information about algal blooms and its impact on environment and
biota.

vii


Contributors

Chris Adriaansen, Australian Plague Locust Commission, Canberra, ACT, Australia
Kathryn J. Alftine, Department of Geographical & Sustainability Sciences, University
of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, USA
Jay P. Angerer, Texas A&M AgriLife Research, Blackland Research and Extension
Center, Temple, TX, USA
Kirsten M.M. Beyer, Division of Epidemiology, Institute for Health and Society,
Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI, USA
Tim Boekhout van Solinge, Utrecht University, Utrecht, Netherlands
David R. Butler, Department of Geography, Texas State University, San Marcos, TX,
USA
Norman Carreck, International Bee Research Association, Laboratory of Apiculture
and Social Insects, School of Life Sciences, University of Sussex, Falmer,
Brighton, UK
Rachel M. Cavin, Department of Geography, Texas State University, San Marcos, TX,
USA
Ram P. Chaudhary, Research Centre for Applied Science and Technology, and Central
Department of Botany, Tribhuvan University, Kirtipur, Kathmandu, Nepal
Keith Cressman, Senior Locust Forecasting Officer, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Rome, Italy
James P. Cuda, Entomology & Nematology Department, Institute of Food &
Agricultural Sciences, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA
Paolo D’Odorico, Department of Environmental Sciences, University of Virginia,
Charlottesville, VA, USA
Rene´ A. De Hon, Department of Geography, Texas State University, San Marcos, TX,
USA
Edward Deveson, Australian Plague Locust Commission, Canberra, ACT, Australia
V. Alistair Drake, School of Physical, Environmental and Mathematical Sciences,
UNSW Canberra, The University of New South Wales, Canberra, ACT,
Australia; Institute for Applied Ecology, University of Canberra, Canberra,
ACT, Australia
Brent Ewers, Department of Botany, University of Wyoming, Laramie, WY, USA

William E. Fox, Texas A&M AgriLife Research, Blackland Research and Extension
Center, Temple, TX, USA
xvii


xviii

Contributors

Benjamin A. Geaumont, North Dakota State University, Hettinger Research Extension
Center, Hettinger, ND, USA
Sarah Harris, Department of Geography and Geology, Eastern Michigan University,
MI, USA
John R. Hendrickson, United States Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research
Service, Mandan, ND, USA
Thomas Holmes, Southern Research Station, USDA Forest Service, Research Triangle,
NC, USA
Richard A. Houghton, Woods Hole Research Center, Falmouth, MA, USA
Kevin Hyde, WY Center for Environmental Hydrology and Geophysics, University of
Wyoming, Laramie, WY, USA
Jeffrey A. Lockwood, Department of Philosophy and Creative Writing Program,
University of Wyoming, Laramie, WY, USA
George P. Malanson, Department of Geographical & Sustainability Sciences,
University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, USA
Robert M. May, Zoology Department, Oxford University, Oxford, UK
Suzanne McGowan, School of Geography, University Park, University of Nottingham,
Nottingham, UK; School of Geography, Malaysia Campus, University of
Nottingham, Semenyih, Selangor Darul Ehsan, Malaysia
John Oswald, Department of Geography and Geology, Eastern Michigan University,
MI, USA

Scott Peckham, Department of Botany, University of Wyoming, Laramie, WY, USA
Sujith Ravi, Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Temple University,
Philadelphia, PA, USA
Sagar Kumar Rimal, Ministry of Forests and Soil Conservation, Government of
Nepal, Singh Durbar, Kathmandu, Nepal
Scott P. Schell, Department of Ecosystem Science and Management, University of
Wyoming, Laramie, WY, USA
Kevin K. Sedivec, North Dakota State University, School of Natural Resource Sciences, Fargo, ND, USA
Ramesh Sivanpillai, Senior Research Scientist, Department of Botany j WyGISC,
University of Wyoming, Laramie, WY, USA
Jake L. Snaddon, Centre for Biological Sciences, University of Southampton,
Southampton, UK
Edgar C. Turner, Insect Ecology Group, Department of Zoology, University of
Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
Yadav Uprety, Research Centre for Applied Science and Technology, and Central
Department of Botany, Tribhuvan University, Kirtipur, Kathmandu, Nepal
Abbey F. Wick, North Dakota State University, School of Natural Resource Sciences,
Fargo, ND, USA
June E. Wolfe, Texas A&M AgriLife Research, Blackland Research and Extension
Center, Temple, TX, USA
James D. Woodman, Australian Plague Locust Commission, Canberra, ACT, Australia


Editorial
Foreword

GENERAL HAZARDS, RISKS, AND DISASTERS
Hazards are processes that produce danger to human life and infrastructure.
Risks are the potential or possibilities that something bad will happen because
of the hazards. Disasters are that quite unpleasant result of the hazard

occurrence that caused destruction of lives and infrastructure. Hazards, risks,
and disasters have been coming under increasing strong scientific scrutiny in
recent decades as a result of a combination of numerous unfortunate factors,
many of which are quite out of control as a result of human actions. At the top
of the list of exacerbating factors to any hazard, of course, is the tragic
exponential population growth that is clearly not possible to maintain indefinitely on a finite Earth. As our planet is covered ever more with humans, any
natural or human-caused (unnatural?) hazardous process is increasingly likely
to adversely impact life and construction systems. The volumes on hazards,
risks, and disasters that we present here are thus an attempt to increase understandings about how to best deal with these problems, even while we all
recognize the inherent difficulties of even slowing down the rates of such
processes as other compounding situations spiral on out of control, such as
exploding population growth and rampant environmental degradation.
Some natural hazardous processes such as volcanoes and earthquakes that
emanate from deep within the Earth’s interior are in no way affected by human
actions, but a number of others are closely related to factors affected or
controlled by humanity, even if however unwitting. Chief among these, of
course, are climate-controlling factors, and no small measure of these can be
exacerbated by the now obvious ongoing climate change at hand (Hay, 2013).
Pervasive range and forest fires caused by human-enhanced or induced
droughts and fuel loadings, megaflooding into sprawling urban complexes on
floodplains and coastal cities, biological threats from locust plagues, and other
ecological disasters gone awry; all of these and many others are but a small
part of the potentials for catastrophic risk that loom at many different scales,
from the local to planet girdling.
In fact, the denial of possible planet-wide catastrophic risk (Rees, 2013) as
exaggerated jeremiads in media landscapes saturated with sensational science
stories and end-of-the-world Hollywood productions is perhaps quite understandable, even if simplistically shortsighted. The “end-of-days” tropes promoted by the shaggy-minded prophets of doom have been with us for
xix

xx

Editorial Foreword

centuries, mainly because of Biblical verse written in the early Iron Age during
remarkably pacific times of only limited environmental change. Nowadays
however, the Armageddon enthusiasts appear to want the worst to validate
their death desires and prove their holy books. Unfortunately we are all
entering times when just a few individuals could actually trigger societal
breakdown by error or terror, if Mother Nature does not do it for us first. Thus
we enter contemporaneous times of considerable peril that present needs for
close attention.
These volumes we address here about hazards, risks, and disasters are not
exhaustive dissertations about all the dangerous possibilities faced by the everburgeoning human populations, but they do address the more common natural
perils that people face, even while we leave aside (for now) the thinking about
higher-level existential threats from such things as bio- or cybertechnologies,
artificial intelligence gone awry, ecological collapse, or runaway climate
catastrophes.
In contemplating existential risk (Rossbacher, 2013), we have lately come
to realize that the new existentialist philosophy is no longer the old sense of
disorientation or confusion at the apparently meaninglessness or hopelessly
absurd worlds of the past, but instead an increasing realization that serious
changes by humans appear to be afoot that even threaten all life on the planet
(Kolbert, 2014; Newitz, 2013). In the geological times of the Late Cretaceous, an asteroid collision with Earth wiped out the dinosaurs and much
other life; at the present time by contrast, humanity itself appears to be the
asteroid.
Misanthropic viewpoints aside, however, an increased understanding of
all levels and types of the more common natural hazards would seem a
useful endeavor to enhance knowledge accessibility, even while we attempt
to figure out how to extract ourselves and other life from the perils produced

by the strong climate change so obviously underway. Our intent in these
volumes is to show the latest good thinking about the more common
endogenetic and exogenetic processes and their roles as threats to everyday
human existence. In this fashion, the chapter authors and volume editors
have undertaken to show you overviews and more focused assessments of
many of the chief obvious threats at hand that have been repeatedly shown
on screen and print media in recent years. As this century develops, we may
come to wish that these examples of hazards, risks, and disasters are not
somehow eclipsed by truly existential threats of a more pervasive nature. The
future always hangs in the balance of opposing forces; the ever-lurking, but
mindless threats from an implacable nature, or heedless bureaucracies
countered only sometimes in small ways by the clumsy and often feeble
attempts by individual humans to improve our little lots in life. Only through
improved education and understanding will any of us have a chance against
such strong odds; perhaps these volumes will add some small measure of
assistance in this regard.


Editorial Foreword

xxi

FIGURE 1 The standard biohazard symbol is meant to be evocative of danger, and was designed
to be memorable but meaningless so that people could be taught what it meant.

BIOLOGICAL ASPECTS OF HAZARDS, RISKS,
AND DISASTERS
Biological hazards, also known as biohazards, refer to biological substances
that pose a threat to the health of living organisms, primarily that of humans.
This can include medical waste or samples of a microorganism, viruses, or

toxins (from a biological source) that can affect human health. Symbolized by
a striking medallion of curving, curlicue scepters (Figure 1), the sinister nature
of the biohazard is evoked by the sharp and pointed nature of the otherwise
round symbol.
The chapters presented in this volume are reflective not of such vectorbased biohazards, but of the greater and more widespread or more generalized
threats caused by the diversity of insect plagues and swarms, blooms of
poisonous algae, direct animal threats, degradation of land, deforestation,
desertification, ecological impacts of climate change, and even strikes upon
the Earth by comets and asteroids that would so devastate life if they were
large enough. The possible disruptions of the biological communities of the
planet upon which humanity depends absolutely for the continuation of its own
existence are most serious situations that can exert great controls on future
economies. Knowing more about the nature of such generalized biohazards is
an obvious need in the community of experts concerned about hazards, risks,
and disasters.
Many volumes are written about the various point-source vectors of disease, contagion, and pandemics because of the insidious nature of that group
of medical hazards. Less concern is generally exhibited with the diverse
biologic hazards discussed in this volume, probably because of the more
diffuse nature of many of those hazards discussed, and their seemingly lower
impact to life, limb, or infrastructure. Nevertheless, many of these varieties of
biological hazard can also do considerable damage, even to the loss of life, so
greater attention needs to be paid to expositions of their many varieties.


xxii

Editorial Foreword

This volume, by no means exhaustive of all the possibilities of such biohazard,
still addresses numerous such problems and should be read as an introduction

to a very problematic and quite diverse area of hazard occurrence.
John (Jack) Shroder
Editor-in-Chief
July 9, 2015

REFERENCES
Hay, W.W., 2013. Experimenting on a Small Planet: A Scholarly Entertainment. Springer-Verlag,
Berlin, 983 p.
Kolbert, E., 2014. The Sixth Extinction: An Unnatural History. Henry Holt & Company, NY,
319 p.
Newitz, A., 2013. Scatter, Adapt, and Remember. Doubleday, NY, 305 p.
Rees, M., 2013. Denial of catastrophic risks. Science 339 (6124), 1123.
Rossbacher, L.A., October 2013. Contemplating existential risk. Earth, Geologic Column 58 (10), 64.


Acknowledgments

This book project materialized from the invaluable contributions from
numerous individuals. First, I express my thanks to Dr David Butler and
Dr George Malanson for the invitation to submit a chapter to this volume.
Shortly after that they recommended me to serve as the editor. I thank Dr John
Shroder for accepting their recommendation and entrusting this task to me. He
provided incredible support while I learned the ropes as an editor. His words of
wisdom helped me to move forward and bring this project to fruition. I am
indebted to the authors for contributing chapters and units to this volume.
I thank Ms Louisa Hutchins, associate acquisitions editor (Elsevier, UK),
for the valuable support she provided since I took over the editorial responsibilities. She made herself available to answer all my questions, however,
trivial they might be, contacted the authors at crucial steps, and ensured that
every aspect of this project progressed smoothly. I was amazed how she could
do all this despite her busy work and travel schedule. This project would not

have materialized without her contribution. Mr Unni Kannan, Technical
Assessor (Elsevier, India) did an excellent job of scrutinizing each manuscript
prior to typesetting. Mr Poulouse Joseph, Production Manager (Elsevier,
India) and his team did an outstanding job of taking the text, figures, and
photos, and creating the impressive layout for this book. Ms Tharangini
Sakthivel (Elsevier, India) worked with the authors and rest of us to keep the
necessary paperwork in order. I also extend my thanks to others at Elsevier
who worked on this book.
I owe a wealth of gratitude to the reviewers (table at the end of this section)
who spent considerable amount of their time to review the manuscripts. All
manuscripts immensely benefited through their suggestions and comments and
I thank them for their valued contributions.
Identifying authors is never a trivial task and like every editor, I contacted
numerous experts to contribute a chapter to this volume. While several declined
my invitation, the following people took the time to provide words of encouragement and suggest names of potential authors or, at times, served as reviewers:
Dr T. Mitchell Aide (University of Puerto Rico), Dr Dana Blumenthal (USDAARS), Dr Tim Collier (University of Wyoming), Dr Chris Kettle (ETH Zu¨rich,
Switzerland), Dr Anthony Fauci (NIH, USA), Dr Esther Gilman-Kehrer
(University of Wyoming), Dr Ann Marie Hart (University of Wyoming),
Dr Anthony Ives (University of WisconsineMadison), Dr William Lauenroth
(University of Wyoming), Dr Jeff Pettis (USDA-ARS, Beltsville, MD),
xxiii


xxiv

Acknowledgments

Dr Ben Phalan (King’s College, UK), Dr Lian Pin Koh (The University of
Adelaide), Dr Daju Pradnja Resosudarmo (Center for International Forestry
ResearchdCIFOR, Indonesia), Dr Tom Rudel (Rutgers University), Dr Osvaldo

E. Sala (Arizona State University), Dr Scott Shaw (University of Wyoming), Dr
Peter Stahl (University of Wyoming), and Dr Mark Winston (Simon Fraser
University). I am grateful for the kind words of encouragement and assistance to
identify authors and reviewers.
Mr Philip Polzer and Dr Kenneth L. Driese, my colleagues at the university, deserve special mention for editing some of my text that is included in
this volume. Editing someone’s text is not an easy task but they did an
outstanding job to add clarity. I thank them for their help.
Last but not least, I thank my family members for their patience and
understanding.
This volume is by no means comprehensive or free from mistakes or
omissions. If there are errors or could be further improved please send a note
to me at
Ramesh Sivanpillai
Laramie, WY


List of Reviewers

Abinash Bhattachan, PhD, Department of Environmental Sciences, University of
Virginia, Charlottesville, VA 22904, USA
Robert A. Cheke, PhD, Department of Agriculture, Health and Environment, Natural
Resources Institute, University of Greenwich at Medway, Chatham Maritime, UK
Rajaraman Jayakrishnan, PhD, Dewberry, Raleigh, NC 27607, USA
William K. Lauenroth, PhD, Department of Botany, University of Wyoming,
Laramie, WY 82071, USA
Jeffrey A. Lockwood, PhD, Department of Philosophy and Creative Writing Program,
University of Wyoming, Laramie, WY, USA
Jennifer Lucey, PhD, Department of Biology (J2), University of York, York, YO10
5DD, UK
Rachana Giri Paudel, Department of Ecosystem Science and Management, University

of Wyoming, Laramie, WY 82071, USA
Jordan Graesser, Geography Department, McGill University, Quebec H3A 0G4,
Canada
Jeff Pettis, PhD, Research Entomologist, USDA-ARS Bee Research Laboratory, Bldg.
306 BARC-E, 10300 Baltimore AV., Beltsville, MD 20705, USA
Satish P. Nair, PhD, CHP, DABMP, Medical Health Physicist, F.X. Masse´ Associates,
Inc., Health and Medical Physics Consultants, Gloucester, MA 01930, USA
Matthew Sanderson, PhD, Research Leader, USDA e Agriculture Research Service,
Northern Great Plains Research Laboratory, Mandan, ND 58554, USA
Daniel Bryan Tinker, PhD, Associate Professor, Department of Botany, University of
Wyoming, Laramie, WY 80271, USA
Xinyuan (Ben) Wu, PhD, Professor, Department of Ecosystem Science & Management, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843, USA
Teal Wyckoff, Research Scientist, Wyoming GIS Center, University of Wyoming,
Laramie, WY 82071, USA

xxv


Chapter 1

Introduction to Biological
and Environmental Hazards,
Risks, and Disasters
Ramesh Sivanpillai
Senior Research Scientist, Department of Botany j WyGISC, University of Wyoming, Laramie,
WY, USA

The biotic components of Earth are connected by hierarchical, complex, and
interconnected networks through which material and energy flow. Live cells
are part of an organism, organisms are part of a population, populations are

part of a community, communities are part of an ecosystem, ecosystems are
part of a landscape, landscapes are part of a biome, and biomes are part of the
entire biosphere. Ecologists study the components and processes at scales
ranging from the physiology of small organisms to the carbon flow in the
entire biosphere (Allen and Hoekstra, 1992). The structures and processes that
are part of Earth’s biosphere have evolved over several millions of years.
When organisms are removed from their habitat or ecosystem, or introduced to
a different ecosystem, alterations in the structure and processes occur,
resulting in the disruption of stability of those ecosystems (Coztanza et al.,
1992). Similarly, changes in abiotic components in ecosystems can alter the
energy and material flows that occur within them. Any changes, minor or
major, to the species composition or processes such as energy flow, pose risks
and hazards to Earth’s environment and its biotic components.
Accidental and intentional introduction of species to new ecosystems has
resulted in adverse consequences. When modifications were made to the
Welland Canal in the late 1800s and early 1900s to establish shipping connections between Lake Ontario and Lake Erie, sea lampreys (Petromyzon marinus)
native to Atlantic Ocean entered the Great Lakes (Smith and Tibbles, 1980).
This parasitic fish lacks a jaw, and sucks blood and other bodily fluids from host
species (other fish) for its survival. Sea lamprey attacks do not kill their hosts in
the Atlantic Ocean by virtue of millions of years of coevolution of hosteparasite
relationship, whereas the fish native to the Great Lakes did not have that
evolutionary advantage. Sea lamprey populations exploded by the 1940s, and
within the next two decades devastated native fish populations and the associated Great Lakes fishing industry (GLFC, />Biological and Environmental Hazards, Risks, and Disasters. />Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

1


2

Biological and Environmental Hazards, Risks, and Disasters

Similarly, Parthenium hysterophorus, a native plant of Northeast Mexico
and endemic in America has spread to Africa, Australia, Asia, and Pacific
Islands in the last 100 years. Known by various names, such as whitetop weed,
ragweed, congress grass, and Santa Maria feverfew, Parthenium is classified as
one of the world’s seven most devastating and hazardous weeds (Patel, 2011).
This weed is one of the most troublesome and noxious weeds in India. It has
caused several health problems to humans and livestock (Kohli et al., 2006).
Numerous examples of such biological invasions and their impacts have been
reported from almost every continent.
Certain diseases that were once considered eradicated are reappearing in
some parts of the world. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
(CDC) lists several reemerging diseases including the deadly smallpox, yellow
fever, and plague (CDC, 2015), and the prevalence of drug-resistant infections
is listed as a major reason. The U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH) has
published a comprehensive list of reemerging diseases (NIH, 2012). With
increased and faster global travel, diseases are spreading quicker and
impacting greater numbers of people in multiple continents.
It is a formidable task to capture all hazards and risks associated with the
myriad processes and components in their entirety in a single volume. Topics
covered in this volume represent a few of the important risks and hazards that
we face today. Earlier volumes published in this book series have captured the
hazards, risks, and disasters associated with water, volcanoes, landslides,
earthquakes, seas and oceans, snow and ice, and wildfires. This volume
addresses several hazards, risks, and disasters that could be linked to other
natural phenomena or human-made activities.
Chapters included in this volume deal with several important hazards and
risks. The chapter on algal blooms (McGowan) identifies the sources of this
major problem that has increased over the past 40 years, and the risks it poses
humans and the environment. An overview of recent advances in the monitoring and detection of algal blooms in addition to forecasting and treating

them is included.
The next five chapters deal with risks, hazards, and disasters associated
with insects or the impact of changes at their population level. Grasshoppers
pose hazards to agriculture, illustrated by Schell using examples from western
North America. Locusts, when they form swarms consisting of millions of
individuals, can wipe out crops and vegetation across large geographic areas.
Their impact on agriculture and vegetation in Australia, Africa, and Western
Asia along with the treatment measures adopted by various national and
international agencies are described under three units (Lockwood, Adriaansen
et al., and Cressman) in the following chapter. This is followed by chapters
on the risks and potential disasters associated with declining bee population on
food production (Carreck), the impact of surging bark beetle populations on
North American forests (Hyde et al.), and risks associated with the release of
natural enemies to tackle invasive weeds (Cuda).


Chapter j 1

Biological and Environmental Hazards

3

Humaneanimal interactions have been either mutually beneficial or at
times hazardous to humans. Cavin and Butler provide an overview of animal
hazards including zoonotic diseases and techniques used for mitigating those
hazards. Species extinction and their impact on biodiversity is described in the
next essay (May).
Causes of environmental chronic diseases (Beyer) are examined next, along
with responses to major disease outbreaks from different parts of the world.
Insights are provided for intervening and preparing to reduce future burdens.

Land degradation and subsequent reduction in soil fertility poses a major
risk to the entire human population. Following an overview (D’Odorico and
Ravi), three units provide an in-depth analysis of the environmental risks
associated with desertification (Oswald and Harris) and degradation of
grassland (Wick et al.) and rangeland (Jay Angerer et al.) ecosystems.
Deforestation is a worldwide phenomenon driven by various causes in
different parts. Following an overview (Houghton), three units highlight the
causes and impact on deforestation in Southeast Asia (Turner and Snaddon),
Nepal (Chaudhary), and Latin America (Boekhout van Solinge). Impacts of
climate changes (Malanson) on species and ecosystems are described in the
next chapter. Risks and threats posed by potential meteoroid and asteroid
impacting the Earth are described in the final chapter (De Hon). Topics
described in this book address several important biological and environmental
risks and hazards that humanity faces today.

REFERENCES
Allen, Hoekstra, 1992. Towards a Unified Ecology. Columbia University Press, New York. NY.
CDC, 2015. Infectious Disease Information: Emerging Infectious Diseases. />ncidod/diseases/eid/disease_sites.htm (accessed on 08.08.15.).
Coztanza, et al. (Eds.), 1992. Ecosystem Health: New Goals for Environmental Management.
Island Press, Washington, DC.
GLFC, 2015. Sea Lamprey: A Great Lakes Invader. (accessed on
08.08.2015).
Kohli, R.K., Batish, D.R., Singh, H.P., Dogra, K.S., 2006. Status, invasiveness and environmental
threats of three tropical American invasive weeds (Parthenium hysterophorus L., Ageratum
conyzoides L., Lantana camara L.) in India. Biol. Invasions 8 (7), 1501e1510.
NIH, 2012. Emerging and Re-emerging Infectious Diseases (updated in 2012). cation.
nih.gov/supplements/nih1/Diseases/guide/pdfs/nih_diseases.pdf (accessed on 08.08.15.).
Patel, S., 2011. Harmful and beneficial aspects of Parthenium hysterophorus: an update. 3 Biotech.
1 (1), 1e9.
Smith, B.R., Tibbles, J.J., 1980. Sea lamprey (Petromyzon marinus) in lakes Huron, Michigan, and

Superior: history of invasion and control, 1936e78. Can. J. Fish. Aquatic Sci. 37 (11),
1780e1801.


Chapter 2

Algal Blooms
Suzanne McGowan
School of Geography, University Park, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, UK; School of
Geography, Malaysia Campus, University of Nottingham, Semenyih, Selangor Darul Ehsan,
Malaysia

ABSTRACT
Harmful algal blooms (HABs) in marine, brackish, and freshwater environments are
caused by a broad range of microscopic algae and cyanobacteria. HABs are hazardous
and sometimes fatal to human and animal populations, either through toxicity, or by
creating ecological conditions, such as oxygen depletion, which can kill fish and other
economically or ecologically important organisms. HAB hazards have increased
globally over the past 40 years, because of eutrophication, translocation of exotic
species via global shipping routes, climate-driven range expansions, and altered
physical oceanographic conditions. Human vulnerability to HABs is greatest in communities that are nutritionally and economically reliant on fishery resources, but locally
HABs also cause damage to tourist industries and have health-associated costs. Major
research advances have been made in the monitoring, detection, modeling, forecast,
prevention, and treatment of HABs, which have helped to mitigate health and economic
risks. However, reducing HAB incidents in the future will be challenging, particularly
in areas where food production and human populations (and therefore nutrient fluxes)
are projected to increase. A further challenge lies in adequate communication of HAB
risks and providing effective institutional structures to prepare for and respond to HAB
incidents.

2.1 INTRODUCTION
Blooms are dense accumulations of microscopic algal or cyanobacterial cells
within marine, brackish, and freshwater bodies, often resulting in visible
discoloration of the water (Heisler et al., 2008). Most blooms are caused by
planktonic algae that float in the water, but occasionally the term may describe
accumulations of microscopic benthic algae or macroalgae, which grow attached
to surfaces (Box 2.1). Phytoplankton blooms in coastal areas may colloquially
be referred to as “red tides.” Many algal species bloom as a part of their seasonal
periodicity, but some algae produce toxins which are harmful to humans and
other animals. The impacts of algal toxins on humans can be direct in the case
Biological and Environmental Hazards, Risks, and Disasters. />Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

5


6

Biological and Environmental Hazards, Risks, and Disasters

BOX 2.1 Hidden Hazards of Seaweeds
Deadly concentrations of hydrogen sulphide gas emitted from thick decomposing
strandlines of the seaweed Ulva spp. on a beach in Brittany were linked to the
death of a horse, which became stuck in the algal sludge. A man accompanying
the horse was left seriously ill. The incident occurred in 2009, but previously on
the same beach an unexplained death of a man and the recovery of a man who
lapsed into a coma, were each associated with similar bloom occurrences. The
deaths of two dogs on a nearby beach were similarly associated with blankets of
rotting Ulva. The cause of the increased blooms along the Britany coast has been
linked to intensive pig farming in the area, which has increased the discharge of
nitrates into the sea. Other high-profile incidents involving blooms of marine

macro-algae and linked to eutrophication include the major clean-up operation to
remove an Enteromorpha spp. bloom from the Yellow Sea in China prior to the
Beijing Olympics sailing events.

of toxic exposure, resulting in death to relatively mild illness, or may arise from
long-term chronic exposure, although causal links have yet to be conclusively
proven (Ueno et al., 1996; Carmichael et al., 2001). Some algal blooms are also
linked to the death and illness of livestock, pets, birds, and marine animals
through direct toxicity or major disruption of ecological conditions. Together,
blooms which cause harm to humans or other organisms are termed harmful
algal blooms (HABs) (Table 2.1).
In marine ecosystems only 2% (60e80 species) of the estimated
3400e4000 phytoplankton taxa are harmful or toxic (Smayda, 1997). Most
toxic taxa derive from the phylum of dinoflagellates, which are large and
motile protists with flagellae (whip-like appendages that aid movement).
Additionally, some species of diatoms (silica-encased and largely nonmotile
algae), prymnesiophytes (flagellated “golden-brown” algae) and raphidophytes
(flagellated algae) also produce potent toxins (Van Dolah, 2000). The most
common route of poisoning to humans is through the ingestion of shellfish or
fish, which accumulate HAB toxins, many of which are temperature-stable and
so unaffected by cooking. The resulting human symptoms may be classified
into around eight poisoning syndromes (Hinder et al., 2011):
1. Paralytic shellfish poisoning (PSP) is caused by saxitoxins (STXs; a group
of heterocyclic guanidines), which are produced predominantly by the
dinoflagellates Alexandrium, Karenia, and Pyrodinium spp. When ingested by humans in shellfish, they attack the peripheral nervous system
leading to rapid (<1 h) onset of symptoms including tingling and numbness around the mouth and extremities, loss of motor control, drowsiness,
incoherence and, at high doses, death by respiratory paralysis.
2. Neurotoxic shellfish poisoning (NSP) is caused by a suite of brevetoxins
(polycyclic ethers) deriving from the dinoflagellate Karenia or the

Chapter j 2

7

Algal Blooms

TABLE 2.1 Harmful algal events collected by the HAEDAT database haedat.
iode.org which is currently only operational for the ICES (International
Council for the Exploration of the Sea) North Atlantic (since 1985) and from
the PICES (North Pacific Marine Science Organization) North Pacific (since
2000) regions

Toxin Type

North
Atlantic
(1985e2013)

North
Pacific
(2000e2013)

% of Cases
Affecting
humans

Paralytic shellfish poisoning

423

406

6.5

Amnesic shellfish poisoning

175

45

0.8

Diarrhetic shellfish poisoning

654

120

1.7

Neurotoxic shellfish poisoning

49

0

53

Ciguatera fish poisoning

0

0

0

Azaspiracid shellfish poisoning

21

0

0

Aerosolized toxic effects

2

0

100

Cyanobacterial

6

0

0

raphidophyte Chattonella (Watkins et al., 2008). The symptoms are
nausea, tingling and numbness around the mouth, loss of motor control,
and severe muscular ache. As yet, no cases of human fatalities have
occurred. Because Karenia and Chattonella cells are unarmored, they are
susceptible to rupture (lysis), which releases toxins into waters and
frequently leads to fish kills.
3. Aerosolized toxin events may arise when brevetoxins (see (2) above)
released into the water become airborne through sea spray action, leading
to irritation and burning of the throat and upper respiratory tract in
humans.
4. Amnesic shellfish poisoning (ASP) is the only shellfish poisoning caused
by a diatom. The genus Pseudo-nitzschia produces toxic domoic acid (a
tricarboxylic amino acid) which, when ingested in shellfish, can cause
gastrointestinal and neurological disturbance, disorientation, lethargy,
seizures, permanent loss of short-term memory and, in rare cases, death.
5. Diarrhetic shellfish poisoning (DSP) is caused by a class of acidic polyether toxins including okadoic acid produced by dinoflagellates such as
Dinophysis fortii or the benthic species Prorocentrum lima. Intoxication
symptoms are mild and include gastrointestinal symptoms that usually
subside within 2e3 days. Longer term effects associated with tumor
growth are suspected but unconfirmed.


8

Biological and Environmental Hazards, Risks, and Disasters

6. Azaspiracid shellfish poisoning (AZP) has similar symptoms to DSP
(nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and stomach cramps), leading to misdiagnosis
until its polyether marine toxin azaspiracid (AZA) was identified in 1997

(Twiner et al., 2008). Recovery usually occurs within 2e3 days and no
long-term symptoms have been noted. The identity of the producer organism is unconfirmed.
7. Ciguatera fish poisoning (CFP) is caused by a benthic dinoflagellate
Gambierdiscus toxicus, which grows attached to coral reef flora, and is
ingested by fish and invertebrates (Friedman et al., 2008). Humans are
usually poisoned by eating piscivorous (fish-eating) fish as toxins bioaccumulate up the food chain. The symptoms are gastrointestinal upset
followed by neurological problems, muscular aches, headaches, itching,
tachycardia, hypertension, blurred vision, paralysis and, rarely, death.
8. Venerupin shellfish poisoning (VSP) causes gastrointestinal and nervous
symptoms, delirium, and hepatic coma. The liver damage is distinctive in
this syndrome and the fatality rate is quite high. The dinoflagellate species
Prorocentrum species are thought to carry the toxin venerupin, which is
usually transferred to humans via shellfish (Grzebyk et al., 1997).
New toxins, producer organisms and toxic syndromes continue to be
identified. For example, yessotoxins (YTXs; produced by the dinoflagellates
Lingulodinium polyedrum, Gonygulax spinifera, and Protoceratium reticulatum), previously classified with DSP toxins because they induce similar
symptoms, have now been reclassified because they have a different toxicological mechanism (Tubaro et al., 2010). In contrast, reports of toxic incidents
in the literature, implicating Pfisteria spp. in fish and human poisoning incidents (termed “estuary-associated syndrome”), are now thought to be caused
by a co-occurring toxic dinoflagellate Karlodinium veneficum, which produces
karlotoxins (Place et al., 2008; Peng et al., 2010). Other toxic algae such as the
Prymnesiophytes which produce the toxin prymnesin (including the genera
Chrysochromulina and Prymnesium) and the dinoflagellate Cochlodinium
polykrikoides are more commonly associated with fish kills (Kudela et al.,
2008; Manning and La Claire, 2010).
In freshwaters including lakes, ponds, reservoirs, and rivers the most
common HAB organisms are cyanobacteria, forming cyano-HABs. Sometimes
termed “blue-green algae,” cyanobacteria are old in evolutionary terms and
distinct from other eukaryotic algae because they have no cell organelles (they
are prokaryotes), but they occupy a similar ecological niche. Although more
common in freshwater environments, cyanobacteria also occur in marine and

brackish waters. In contrast to marine HAB incidents, most freshwater cyanobacterial blooms occur on a local scale, and yet they pose a substantial
threat with up to 50% of cyano-HABs being toxic (Fristachi et al., 2008). They
are thus responsible for deaths and illness in many humans and animals, as
well as being implicated as agents of chronic tumor promotion (Carmichael


Chapter j 2

Algal Blooms

9

et al., 2001). Cyanobacterial toxins are widely produced by cyanobacteria
from the orders of Nostocales (Anabaena, Nodularia, Aphanizomenon,
Cylindrospermopsis, Planktothrix) and Chroococcales (Microcystis and Synechococcus), but may be separated into four major classes:
1. Hepatotoxins are cyclic peptides with differing amino acid composition
that promote liver hemorrhage (Falconer, 1999). Characteristic hepatotoxins include microcystins (MCYs) (present in Microcystis aeruginosa
and some Anabaena, Synechococcus, and Planktothrix species) and nodularin (NOD) (present in the brackish water species Nodularia spumigena)
(Fristachi et al., 2008; O’Neil et al., 2012). Chronic exposure to lower
doses of MCYs may cause progressive liver injury (Falconer, 1991).
2. Cytotoxins are usually broken down by digestion, but one cytotoxic guanidine alkaloid cylindrospermopsin (produced by Cylindrospermopsis
raciborskii and some Lyngbya and Anabaena species) is more stable, and
can withstand boiling. Exposure results in liver and kidney damage.
3. Neurotoxins are neuromuscular blocking agents that may cause progressive
paralysis and death from respiratory failure. For example, the PSP-causing
STX have also been found in freshwater algae such as Anabaena circularis,
C. raciborskii, Lyngbya and Aphanizomenon species (Pereira et al., 2000).
Other neurotoxins include anatoxin-a (a low-molecular weight alkaloid
found in Anabaena, Oscillatoria, Planktothrix, and Cylindrospermum
species), anatoxin-a(s) (which induces excessive salivation and is produced

by Anabaena species), homo-anatoxin-a (produced by the benthic Phormidium species; Faassen et al., 2012), b-N-methylamino-L-alanine
(BMAA) possibly produced by all known cyanobacterial groups (Cox
et al., 2005) and palytoxin (found in Trichodesmium “sea sawdust” species
and associated with clupeotoxism which is transmitted via fish that eat
algae; Kerbrat et al., 2011).
4. Irritants include toxins such as Lyngbyatoxin-a (LTA) and debromoaplysiatoxin (DTA) that are produced by Lyngbya species and cause asthmalike symptoms and severe dermatitis in humans (Fristachi et al., 2008).
Exposure to Trichodesmium species has also been anecdotally linked to
dermatitis (called “pica pica” in Belize) and asthma-like symptoms in
Brazil (called Tamarande fever), but the identity of the toxin remains
unclear (O’Neil et al., 2012).

2.2 HISTORIC EXAMPLES OF HAB INCIDENTS
HABs and toxic incidents have been recorded for hundreds of years. Red tides
were recorded in Japan during the eighth and ninth century associated with
a period of economic growth (Takano, 1987 in Wyatt, 1995). Travel notes
published in 1772 observed that “blood-colored” waters in the sea were more
rare in Iceland than in other countries, but noted sporadic bloom occurrences


10

Biological and Environmental Hazards, Risks, and Disasters

along the eastern (in 1638), northwestern (in 1649), and northern (in 1712)
Icelandic coasts (Olaffson and Pa´lsson, 1805). The deaths of many aboriginal
people were described in Tierra del Fuego, Argentina in 1886 following
ingestion of bivalves (Segers, 1908) and cases of suspected PSP were recorded
in 1812 in Leith, Scotland (Combe, 1828). Records of freshwater cyanobacterial blooms also extend back over centuries, including twelfth century
monastery records from Scotland, previously called “Monastery of the Green
Loch” on account of the frequent algal blooms which still occur in its lake

(Codd, 1996). Cyanobacterial blooms in Australia have been linked to a
previously common outback disease “Barcoo Sprue” with similar symptoms to
cyanobacterial poisoning. European explorers in 1844 described “green slime
with red below” on a pond they were using as a water source, and the sickness
that followed its use (Hayman, 1995). In the UK, the West Midland Meres are
well known for regular algal blooms, locally termed “the breaking of the
meres,” described in literature in 1924, and confirmed by sedimentary analyses
as being a natural feature of the lakes (McGowan et al., 1999).

2.3 HAB INCIDENTS IN RECENT DECADES
It is now understood that HAB frequency and distribution has grown in recent
decades (Taylor and Trainer, 2002; Anderson, 2009; Figure 2.1). Although some
of this increase may be attributed to better detection capabilities, sediment
records confirm there is an increasingly serious and widespread HAB problem
(Matsuoka, 1999; Barton et al., 2003; Edwards et al., 2006; McGowan et al.,
2012). Currently no systematic global data collection system exists for HAB
incidents, although the database HAE-DAT ( (presently
available for the North Atlantic and North Pacific region) is attempting to
address this (Table 2.1). Estimates suggest that 60,000 marine intoxication
incidents occur per year with a mortality rate of 1.5% (Van Dolah, 2000).
Some 20% of all foodborne disease outbreaks in the United States result from
the consumption of seafoods, with half of those resulting from naturally
occurring algal toxins (Van Dolah, 2000). However, many incidents, especially
mild cases go unreported. A bias in the data therefore occurs toward countries
with more developed and transparent reporting procedures and toward major
toxic episodes (Tables 2.2 and 2.3).
PSP is the most hazardous marine poisoning syndrome, resulting from a
combination of high mortality rate (estimated at a 15% mortality rate across
2000 cases per year) (Van Dolah, 2000) and broad geographic distribution,
occurring worldwide in boreal to tropical and coastal to offshore waters

(Table 2.2). One of the most devastating single incidents occurred in Chile and
Argentina in 1992 (300 cases, 11 dead) following an expansion in the known
geographic range of Alexandrium catanella when some of the highest toxicity
values (120,440 mg STX/100 g) were noted in mussels (Goya and Maldonado,
2014). The recurrence of blooms in 2002 (one death, 30 poisoned) led to Chile


Chapter j 2

Algal Blooms

11

FIGURE 2.1 The documented distribution of paralytic shellfish poisoning (PSP) toxin outbreaks
in 1970 and 2009, with each point representing a case when measurable levels of PSP toxins have
been recorded. Credit WHOI/US National Office for Harmful Algal Blooms.

being declared a catastrophic area by the president because of widespread
economic impacts on the shellfish industry. The Philippines has probably suffered the most recurrent and sustained losses from PSP, with an individual
incident causing 21 deaths in 1983, and the cumulative death toll by 1989 being
100 people with >2000 illnesses (Hallegraeff and Maclean, 1989). In terms of
mortality rate, a single VSP poisoning event in Japan claims to be the highest
with 114 deaths (Grzebyk et al., 1997). The other poisoning syndromes are
rarely fatal, although notable exceptions include 3 deaths in Eastern Canada in
1987 from ASP, linked to the emergence of a newly discovered poison (domoic
acid), and on some occasions CFP may result in death if there is limited
access to medical care.


Number of Deaths and (Illnesses) or *Total

Number of Incidents Per 10,000
People Per Year

Region

Paralytic shellfish
poisoning

US West Coast

1927e2011

30 (500)

US East coast

2007, 2008e2009

ND, ND

Mexico

1979, 1988, 1989, 1995

2, 10, 3 (99), 6 (136)

Chile/Argentina

1991e1992, 2002

11 (300), 1 (30)

Uruguay

2006

ND

Canada West coast

1992

(2)

The United Kingdom

1968

(78)

Spain

1976, 2005e2006

(63), ND

Portugal

2008

ND

France

1976

(33)

Italy

1976

(38)

Switzerland

1976

(23)

Germany

1976

(19)

Biological and Environmental Hazards, Risks, and Disasters

Intoxication

Date of Individual
Incidents or Time Range

12

TABLE 2.2 Summary of cases of human intoxication by marine HABs collated from Bagnis et al. (1979), European Commission
(2002), Twiner et al. (2008), Watkins et al. (2008), and Hinder et al. (2011). The list is nonexhaustive and includes only widely
reported incidents


4 (74)

Nicaragua

2005

1(50)

Russia (Bering Sea)

1945, 1973

6, 2 (12)

The Philippines

1983, 1992, 1995,
1983e1989

21 (300), 8 (141), 1 (31), 52 (843)

Malaysia

1994

1 (13)

India

1997

7 (500)

New Zealand

2012

(20)

The Netherlands

1995

(8)

Ireland

1997

(20e24)

Italy

1998

(10)

France

1998

(20e30)

The United Kingdom

2000

(12e16)

Venerupin shellfish
poisoning

Japan

1889, 1941

51 (81), 114 (ND)

Norway

1979

(70)

Diarrhetic shellfish
poisoning

Brazil

1990

(Several)

Japan

1976e1982

(1300)

France

1984e1986

(4000)

Azaspiracid shellfish
poisoning

Scandinavia

1984

(300e400)

The United Kingdom

1997

(49)

Algal Blooms

1994

Chapter j 2

Morocco

13
Continued