EconPapers    
Economics at your fingertips  
 

Environmental, human health and socioeconomic impacts of Ostreopsis spp. Blooms in the NW Mediterranean

Elisa Berdalet, Anne-Sophie Pavaux, Rafael Abós-Herràndiz, Muriel Travers (), Gildas Appéré, M Vila, Jérémy Thomas, Luc Haro, M Estrada, Inmaculada Medina-Pérez, Laia Viure, Bengt Karlson and Rodolphe Lemee ()
Additional contact information
Elisa Berdalet: ICM - Institute of Marine Sciences / Institut de Ciències del Mar [Barcelona] - CSIC - Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Cientificas [España] = Spanish National Research Council [Spain]
Anne-Sophie Pavaux: LOV - Laboratoire d'océanographie de Villefranche - INSU - CNRS - Institut national des sciences de l'Univers - SU - Sorbonne Université - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - IMEV - Institut de la Mer de Villefranche - INSU - CNRS - Institut national des sciences de l'Univers - SU - Sorbonne Université - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique
Muriel Travers: LEMNA - Laboratoire d'économie et de management de Nantes Atlantique - Nantes Univ - IAE Nantes - Nantes Université - Institut d'Administration des Entreprises - Nantes - Nantes Université - pôle Sociétés - Nantes Univ - Nantes Université
M Vila: UAB - Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona = Autonomous University of Barcelona = Universidad Autónoma de Barcelona, ICREA - Institució Catalana de Recerca i Estudis Avançats = Catalan Institution for Research and Advanced Studies
Jérémy Thomas: LEMNA - Laboratoire d'économie et de management de Nantes Atlantique - Nantes Univ - IAE Nantes - Nantes Université - Institut d'Administration des Entreprises - Nantes - Nantes Université - pôle Sociétés - Nantes Univ - Nantes Université
Luc Haro: CAPTV Marseille - Centre antipoison et de toxicovigilance (Marseille) - APHM - Assistance Publique - Hôpitaux de Marseille, Hôpitaux Sud - Hôpital Sainte-Marguerite [CHU - APHM]
M Estrada: ICM - Institute of Marine Sciences / Institut de Ciències del Mar [Barcelona] - CSIC - Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Cientificas [España] = Spanish National Research Council [Spain]
Inmaculada Medina-Pérez: ICM - Institute of Marine Sciences / Institut de Ciències del Mar [Barcelona] - CSIC - Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Cientificas [España] = Spanish National Research Council [Spain]
Laia Viure: ICM - Institute of Marine Sciences / Institut de Ciències del Mar [Barcelona] - CSIC - Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Cientificas [España] = Spanish National Research Council [Spain]
Bengt Karlson: SMHI - Swedish Meteorological and Hydrological Institute
Rodolphe Lemee: LOV - Laboratoire d'océanographie de Villefranche - INSU - CNRS - Institut national des sciences de l'Univers - SU - Sorbonne Université - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - IMEV - Institut de la Mer de Villefranche - INSU - CNRS - Institut national des sciences de l'Univers - SU - Sorbonne Université - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique

Post-Print from HAL

Abstract: This paper summarizes the research conducted by the partners of the EU co-funded CoCliME project to ascertain the ecological, human health and economic impacts of Ostreopsis (mainly O. cf. ovata) blooms in the NW Mediterranean coasts of France, Monaco and Spain. This knowledge is necessary to design strategies to prevent, mitigate and, if necessary, adapt to the impacts of these events in the future and in other regions. Ostreopsis proliferations in the Mediterranean have been related to massive mortalities of benthic organisms and to symptoms of respiratory and cutaneous irritation in humans. A six-year epidemiologic study in a Ostreopsis hot spot in Catalonia and the accumulated experience of the French Mediterranean National Ostreopsis Surveillance Network confirm the main effects of these blooms on human health in the NW Mediterranean. The impacts are associated to direct exposure to seawater with high Ostreopsis cell concentrations and to inhalation of aerosols containing unknown irritative chemicals produced under certain circumstances during the blooms. A series of mild acute symptoms, affecting the entire body as well as the ophthalmic, digestive, respiratory and dermatologic systems have been identified. A main remaining challenge is to ascertain the effects of the chronic exposure to toxic Ostreopsis blooms. Still, the mechanisms involved in the deletereous effects of Ostreopsis blooms are poorly understood. Characterizing the chemical nature of the harmful compounds synthesized by Ostreopsis as well as the role of the mucus by which cells attach to benthic surfaces, requires new technical approaches (e.g., metabolomics) and realistic and standardized ecotoxicology tests. It is also necessary to investigate how palytoxin analogues produced by O. cf. ovata could be transferred through the marine food webs, and to evaluate the real risk of seafood poisonings in the area. On the other hand, the implementation of beach monitoring and surveillance systems in the summer constitutes an effective strategy to prevent the impacts of Ostreopsis on human health. In spite of the confirmed noxious effects, a survey of tourists and residents in Nice and Monaco to ascertain the socioeconomic costs of Ostreopsis blooms indicated that the occurrence of these events and their impacts are poorly known by the general public. In relationship with a plausible near future increase of Ostreopsis blooms in the NW Mediterranean coast, this survey showed that a substantial part of the population might continue to go to the beaches during Ostreopsis proliferations and thus could be exposed to health risks. In contrast, some people would not visit the affected areas, with the potential subsequent negative impacts on coastal recreational and touristic activities. However, at this stage, it is too early to accurately assess all the economic impacts that a potentially increasing frequency and biogeographic expansion of the events might cause in the future.

Keywords: Ostreopsis blooms; Human health; Socioeconomy; Ovatoxin; Environmental impacts; Management (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
Note: View the original document on HAL open archive server: https://hal.science/hal-03945492v1
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Published in Harmful Algae, 2022, 119, ⟨10.1016/j.hal.2022.102320⟩

Downloads: (external link)
https://hal.science/hal-03945492v1/document (application/pdf)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:hal:journl:hal-03945492

DOI: 10.1016/j.hal.2022.102320

Access Statistics for this paper

More papers in Post-Print from HAL
Bibliographic data for series maintained by CCSD ().

 
Page updated 2025-03-19
Handle: RePEc:hal:journl:hal-03945492