Occurrence of a multi-species diatom bloom dominated by Proboscia alata (Brightwell) Sandstorm along the southwest coast of India

The present communication reports on the occurrence of a multi-species diatom bloom in the upwelled waters along the southwest coast of India. During the late summer monsoon season (September 2009) a multi-species diatom bloom with a pale green discoloration of the sea surface was observed in the coastal waters of southwest coast of India. The bloom spread over an area of approximately 15 km2 along the coastal waters off Kannur (Lat. 11°59.471 N, Long. 75°03.446 E). Total diatom cell density of the bloom area was 16 × 104 cells l−1. Proboscia (=Rhizosolenia) alata (Brightwell) Sandstrom constituted 90% of the total phytoplankton population. Other phytoplankton groups that contributed to the bloom population included Chaetoceros spp., Pseudo-nitzschia spp., Rhizosolenia spp., Coscinodiscus sp., Leptocylindrus danicus, Thalassiosira sp., and Bacteriosira sp. Among these Pseudo-nitzschia multiseries, a toxic species with the ability to produce potent neurotoxin domoic acid, was observed with a cell density of 4 × 103 cells l−1. Surface chlorophyll a concentration of the bloom region was 14.1 μg l−1. Nutrient concentrations of the bloom area were 0.01 μmol l−1 for NO2-N, 0.1 μmol l−1 for NO3-N, 0.83 μmol l−1 for PO4-P and 11.44 μmol l−1 for SiO4.