Recurrent and persistent brown tide blooms perturb coastal marine ecosystem

Throughout the summers of 1985 and 1986 a small (2-3 μm diameter), previously undescribed chrysophyte bloomed monospecifically $(>10^{9}\ \text{cells}\ {\rm l}^{-1})$ in Long Island embayments. The bloom colored the water dark brown, decimated eelgrass beds through decreased light penetration and caused starvation (tissue weight loss) and recruitment failure of commercially important bay scallop populations. These perturbations portend long-term changes in subtidal communities. Similar and concurrent blooms in bays of Rhode Island and New Jersey suggest a meteorological component of the environmental conditions promoting bloom formation. Culture experiments with isolates of the microalga suggest the presence of stimulatory growth factors in the bloom seawater.