Abstract
Episodes of toxic “red and brown-tides” appear sporadically along coastlines worldwide. Bloom initiation is largely due to a confluence of environmental and meteorological factors that predispose certain algal species to suddenly erupt, but the ensuing duration and severity of an outbreak are shaped, in part, by trophic interactions. We offer a simple model for this that exhibits threshold behavior and excitability and apply it to recent blooms in Long Island, New York.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
T. Wyatt, Harmful Algae News 9 (1994) 2.
R.M. Anderson and R.M. May,Infectious Diseases of Humans, Oxford, New York, 1992.
E. Beltrami and J. Jesty, PNAS 92 (1995) 8744
J.D. Murray,Mathematical Biology, Springer, New York, 1989.
E. Cosper, W. Dennison, A. Milligan, E. Carpenter, C. Lee, J. Holzapfel and L. Milanese, in:Novel Phytoplakton Blooms, M. Bricelj and E. Carpenter, eds., Springer, New York, 1989, p. 317.
M. Vieira and R. Chant, Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Sci. 36 (1993) 15.
D. Lonsdale, E. Cosper, W.S. Wong, M. Doall, A. Divadeenam and S. Jonasdottir, Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser. (1995), to appear.
A. Keller and R. Rice, J. Phycology 25 (1989) 636.
A.G. Durbin and E.G. Durbin, in:Novel Phytoplakton Blooms, M. Bricelj and E. Carpenter, eds., Springer, New York, 1989, p. 625.
R.R. Strathmann, Limnol. Oceanog. 12 (1967) 411.
T. Kiorboe, M. Fleming and K. Hamburger, Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser. 26 (1985) 85.
K.L. Milligan and E.M. Cosper, Science 266 (1994) 805.
E. Beltrami and E. Cosper, in:Toxic Phytoplankton Blooms in the Sea, T. Smayda and Y. Shimizu, eds., Elsevier, New York, 1993, p. 731.
J. Monod,Chance and Necessity, A. Knopf, New York, 1973.
P.R. Epstein and J.R. Jenkinson, Harmful Algae News 7 (1993) 2.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Beltrami, E. Unusual algal blooms as excitable systems: The case of “brown-tides”. Environ Model Assess 1, 19–24 (1996). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01874843
Received:
Revised:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01874843