HAB Species by Name
The below table lists major HAB species and their impacts to human health, wildlife, ecosystems, and economies. This information is adapted from the IOC UNESCO Taxonomic Reference List (please visit the the IOC Harmful Algal Programme for additional information: http://www.marinespecies.org/hab)
To view information organized by HAB poisoning syndrome/impact, please click here. Additional information regarding freshwater HAB taxa can be found on the EPA's CyanoHAB website: https://www.epa.gov/cyanohabs.
| Causative Organism | Toxin/Bioactive Compound | Human Health Effects and/or Syndrome | Impacts to wildlife and/or domestic animals | Ecosystem Disruption Impacts | Economic Impacts | Impacted Areas in U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Akashiwo sanguineum | Surfactants | Suspected respiratory irritant | Migratory bird deaths, including protected species | Water discoloration; Foam formation | Rehabilitation of protected bird species | Pacific Coast |
| Alexandrium monilatum | Goniodomin | Fish and shellfish mortality | Water discoloration | Gulf of Mexico and Atlantic coast up to New Jersey | ||
| Alexandrium*; Gymnodinium*; Pyrodinium bahamense | Saxitoxins | Respiratory paralysis, death (Paralytic Shellfish Poisoning or PSP) | Marine mammal deaths | Loss of shellfish harvesting income; human illness from recreational harvest; closure recreational puffer fish harvest in FL | Pacific coast, including Alaska; NE Atlantic coast; Florida |
|
| Anabaena, Aphanizomenon, and Nostoc sp. | Anatoxins, saxotoxins | Neurotoxin, respiratory paralysis | Illnesses or deaths among livestock, dogs, waterfowl, and fish | Impacts to fish and waterfowl | Widespread in freshwater systems; Great Lakes | |
| Aureococcus anophagefferens --Long Island Brown Tide | Not characterized | Water discoloration; seagrass and shellfish die-offs; hypoxic zones | Loss of shellfish harvesting income; interference with restoration | Mid-Atlantic coast | ||
| Aureoumbra lagunensis --Texas Brown Tide | Not characterized: extracellular polymeric substance (EPS); possibly other uncharacterized compounds | Water discoloration; Loss of submerged aquatic vegetation | Texas, Florida | |||
| Azadinium | Azaspiracid toxins | Gastrointestinal impacts, cytotoxic, possible teratogen and carcinogen; (Azaspiracid shellfish poisoning or AZP) | Pacific northwest | |||
| Cylindrospermopsis | Cylindrospermopsins, saxitons | Hepatotoxin, kidney damage, neurotoxin | Dog, fish kills, bird illness | Impacts to fish and waterfowl | Loss of livestock and pets | Freshwater systems |
| Dinophysis; Prorocentrum* | Okadaic acid; Dinophysotoxins | Gastrointestinal distress (Diarrhetic Shellfish Poisoning or DSP) | Closing of shellfish fisheries | Oregon, Texas, Washington, Long Island Sound; New England | ||
| Gambierdiscus* | Ciguatoxins | Sensory and gastrointestinal dysfunction (Ciguatera Poisoning or CP) | Unknown; Possible impacts to monk seals | Bans on fish sales from affected areas, cost of medical treatment, loss of protein source | Florida, Gulf Coast, Hawaii, Pacific, and Caribbean | |
| Heterosigma akashiwo | Ichthyotoxins | Fish kills | Water discoloration | Loss of fish net pen mariculture | Washington; Mid-Atlantic coast | |
| Karenia | Brevetoxins | Neurotoxicity; Gastrointestinal and sensory effects (Neurotoxic Shellfish Poisoning or NSP), respiratory effects | Fish kills; manatee, dolphin, marine turtle, and bird deaths | Water discoloration | Loss of tourism income; Removal of dead fish from beaches, shellfisheries closing, increased emergency room visits due to respiratory and gastrointestinal illness, wildlife rehabilitation | Gulf of Mexico and Atlantic coast up to Delaware |
| Karlodinium | Karlotoxins | Fish kills | Water discoloration | Atlantic and Gulf Coasts | ||
| Lyngbya | Lyngbyatoxin, Aplysiatoxin, debromoaplysiatoxin | Dermatitis, gastro-intestinal inflammatory toxins | Livestock deaths (horses), may contribute to fibropapillomatosis in turtles | Possible tourism impacts (beachgoers) | Benthic mats in marine and freshwater systems | |
| Macroalgae (Sargassum and Cladophora) | H2S, dopamine | Respiratory impacts, odors | Impair nesting protected species | Shade submerged aquatic vegetation, overgrow coral reefs and seagrasses, cause hypoxia | High biomass necessitating removal from beaches; loss of tourism income | All coasts |
| Margalefidinium | Reactive oxygen species (ROS); possibly other uncharacterized compounds | Fish kills | Water discoloration | Severe impacts on fish and shellfish maricultrue in Asia | West Coast, Mid-Atlantic | |
| Marine cyanobacteria (formerly Lyngbya) | Dermatotoxins | Impact divers on coral reefs | Overgrow coral reefs | Loss of tourism income | South Florida | |
| Microcystis | Microcystins | Hepatotoxin, damage to kidney and reproductive system, carcinogenic potential | Illnesses and deaths among livestock, dogs, and fish | Impacts to fish and waterfowl | Drinking water supply disruption, loss of livestock and pets, recreational fishing losses | Widespread in freshwater systems; Great Lakes |
| Ostreopsis | Ostreocin (palytoxin analogs) | Respiratory problems, skin irritation, flu-like symptoms, death | Possible invertebrate mass mortalities and animal deaths | Loss of macroalgae and benthic organisms | Loss of tourism income; costs medical treatment | Caribbean, Hawaii, Gulf of Mexico |
| Other Raphidophytes: Chattonella, Fibrocapsa | Ichthyotoxins; Brevetoxins | Fish kills | Water discoloration | Mid-Atlantic coast | ||
| Planktonthrix | Saxitoxins, microcystins | Neurotoxin, respiratory paralysis | Widespread in freshwater systems; Great Lakes | |||
| Prorocentrum minimum--Mahogany Tides | Not characterized | Mortality of spat in shellfish hatcheries | Water discoloration | Loss to shellfish hatcheries | Chesapeake Bay | |
| Pseudo-nitzschia | Domoic Acid | Gastrointestinal and central nervous system effects (Amnesic Shellfish Poisoning or ASP) | Mass mortality of fish and shellfish, seabird and marine mammal mortality | Closure of shellfish harvesting, loss of tourism income, wildlife rehabilitation | West Coast, Florida, New England |
*only some species within the genus produce toxins