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Algal blooms: a perspective from the coasts of India

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Abstract

Algal blooms have been documented along the west and east coasts of India. A review of bloom occurrences in Indian waters from 1908 to 2009 points out that a total of 101 cases have been reported. A comparison of the bloom cases reported before and after the 1950s reveals that there is an increase in the number of bloom occurrences. The reports of algal blooms indicate their predominance along the west coast of India especially the southern part. Majority of the blooms reported along the west coast of India are caused by dinoflagellates, whereas diatom blooms prevail along the east coast. There have been 39 causative species responsible for blooms, of which Noctiluca scintillans and Trichodesmium erythraeum are the most common. Reporting of massive fish mortality in Indian waters has been associated with the blooming of Cochlodinium polykrikoides, Karenia brevis, Karenia mikimotoi, N. scintillans, T. erythraeum, Trichodesmium thiebautii and Chattonella marina. Most of the blooms occurred during withdrawal of the south-west monsoon and pre-monsoon period. In Indian waters, this process is mainly influenced by seasonal upwelling and monsoonal forcing that causes high riverine discharge resulting in nutrient-enriched waters that provides a competitive edge for blooming of phytoplankton species.

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Acknowledgments

We are grateful to Dr. S. R. Shetye, Director of National Institute of Oceanography for his support and encouragement. We thank Mr. K. Venkat for helping in formatting the graphics of the manuscript. We also thank our colleagues for their cooperation and suggestions. MSD, RKN and PMD acknowledge the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) for providing Senior Research Fellowship (SRF). This is a NIO contribution (5161).

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  1. CSIR–National Institute of Oceanography, Dona Paula, Goa, 403 004, India

    Maria Shamina D’Silva, Arga Chandrashekar Anil, Ravidas Krishna Naik & Priya Mallika D’Costa

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  1. Maria Shamina D’Silva
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  2. Arga Chandrashekar Anil
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  3. Ravidas Krishna Naik
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  4. Priya Mallika D’Costa
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Correspondence to Arga Chandrashekar Anil.

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D’Silva, M.S., Anil, A.C., Naik, R.K. et al. Algal blooms: a perspective from the coasts of India. Nat Hazards 63, 1225–1253 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11069-012-0190-9

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