Alexandrium catenella resting cyst distribution in the Alaskan Arctic (2018-2019)

During a time of unprecedented ecological change in the Arctic, harmful algal blooms have become an issue of increasing concern. Alexandrium catenella is a dinoflagellate phytoplankton species which produces toxins known to cause paralytic shellfish poisoning (PSP), inducing sickness in people and marine animals that consume contaminated fish or shellfish. This species is found globally, but its extent in Arctic waters is still being described. While blooms generally occur in the upper water column, the life cycle of Alexandrium also includes a resting benthic stage known as a cyst; the distribution of these resting cysts can be used to understand bloom dynamics and even predict future bloom scenarios. This dataset (Alexandrium_AlaskanArctic_Cysts_2018_2019.csv) includes measurements of Alexandrium catenella resting cyst abundance in sediments collected during shipboard surveys in the Northern Bering Sea, Chukchi Sea, and Beaufort Shelf in 2018 and 2019 (see methods section for survey details). Additional species quantities are included at a subset of stations.

在北极地区经历前所未有的生态变化之际，有害藻华已成为日益引人关注的问题。链状亚历山大藻（Alexandrium catenella）是一种甲藻浮游植物，其产生的毒素可引发麻痹性贝类中毒（PSP），会导致食用受污染鱼类或贝类的人类与海洋动物患病。该物种在全球范围内均有分布，但目前对其在北极水域的分布范围仍在研究中。尽管藻华通常发生在上层水体中，但链状亚历山大藻的生命周期还包含一个被称为孢囊的底栖休眠阶段；对这些休眠孢囊的分布进行研究，有助于理解藻华动态，甚至可用于预测未来的藻华发生情况。本数据集（Alexandrium_AlaskanArctic_Cysts_2018_2019.csv）包含2018至2019年在白令海北部、楚科奇海以及波弗特陆架开展的船舶调查中采集的沉积物样本内的链状亚历山大藻休眠孢囊丰度测量数据（调查细节详见方法部分）。部分站位还附带了额外的物种种群数量数据。