Temporal bloom dynamics of the marine dinoflagellate Tripos furca in the Penang Strait.

The dinoflagellate Tripos furca, known for its frequent and massive blooms in coastal waters, has been associated with significant fish mortality in aquaculture areas. In mid-May 2022, a notable bloom event, characterized by intense red discoloration, was observed along the Penang Strait in the northern Malacca Strait. Our field survey identified a high-density bloom of T.

Molecular diversity of benthic harmful dinoflagellates on a tropical reef: Comparing natural and artificial substrate sampling methods using DNA metabarcoding and morphological analysis.

Harmful algal blooms in the benthic system (BHAB) are a major environmental problem that has increased worldwide in the context of global climate change. While systematic cell-based BHAB monitoring for risk assessment and early warning systems have been recommended, implementation of a standardized sampling method is challenging owing to the benthic nature of these harmful microalgal taxa. This study investigated the molecular diversity of benthic harmful dinoflagellates in tropical reefs of Perhentian Islands, Malaysia, using artificial substrate (AS) and sampling natural substrates (NS), combined with environmental DNA (eDNA) analysis and high-throughput amplicon sequencing targeting the small subunit (SSU) and large subunit (LSU) rDNA markers.