{"id":4277,"date":"2025-07-10T17:03:58","date_gmt":"2025-07-10T17:03:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/wrigley\/?p=4277"},"modified":"2025-07-30T22:12:57","modified_gmt":"2025-07-30T22:12:57","slug":"investigating-the-anthropogenic-impact-of-toxic-algae-pseudo-nitzschia","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/wrigley\/2025\/07\/10\/investigating-the-anthropogenic-impact-of-toxic-algae-pseudo-nitzschia\/","title":{"rendered":"How a Fast Food Feast Can Create a Toxic Beast: Investigating the Anthropogenic Impact of Toxic Algae Pseudo-nitzschia"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\n\n\n \n \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
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2025 Wrigley Institute Graduate Fellow Bradley Mackett uses a plankton tow net to collect phytoplankton from the surface ocean. Back in the lab, he will test how exposure to fire debris affects their physiology. (Nick Neumann\/USC Wrigley Institute)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n

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How a Fast Food Feast Can Create a Toxic Beast: Investigating the Anthropogenic Impact of Toxic Algae Pseudo-nitzschia<\/h1>\n\n\n<\/div>\n \n \n By<\/span>Bradley Mackett<\/strong>\n \n July 10, 2025<\/span>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n <\/div><\/div>\n\n \n \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
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Most of my childhood memories are rooted in the Florida Panhandle\u2014white sand beaches, crystal-clear emerald waters, and vibrant marine life. It felt like paradise. But even amid those idyllic scenes, I remember moments of devastation: the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill, the lingering effects of Hurricane Katrina, and most vividly, the toxic algal blooms. <\/span><\/p>\n

Those blooms were the hardest to understand. One day the beach was pristine; the next, it was a tainted wasteland. The water turned a rusty red, and you couldn\u2019t step outside without coughing up a lung. As a child, I struggled to grasp how something so beautiful could turn toxic overnight\u2014but more importantly, I wished there was something I could do about it.<\/span><\/p>\n

A Southern gentleman turned SoCal beach regular, I began my PhD hoping to answer the questions I once couldn\u2019t. I now study harmful algal blooms (HABs) under the guidance of Dr. David Hutchins<\/a> and Dr. Feixue Fu<\/a> at the University of Southern California, where our research focuses on\u00a0<\/span>Pseudo-nitzschia<\/span><\/i>\u2014a native California alga known for producing the potent neurotoxin domoic acid.<\/span><\/p>\n

Pseudo-nitzschia<\/span><\/i> is no stranger to California\u2019s coast; it appears annually to some degree. Our region\u2019s productive marine ecosystem is powered by wind-driven upwelling, which brings nutrient-rich deep waters to the surface. Unfortunately, these same conditions allow\u00a0<\/span>Pseudo-nitzschia<\/span><\/i>\u00a0to thrive\u2014often outcompeting other phytoplankton and producing harmful levels of domoic acid. This toxin accumulates in filter feeders, like mussels and anchovies, which can pass it along the food chain. Intoxicated animals have made headlines for biting surfers or stopping coastal roads during rush hour traffic. In the most severe cases,\u00a0<\/span>Pseudo-nitzschia<\/span><\/i>\u00a0blooms have led to mass die-offs of sea lions and dolphins, and have disrupted fisheries, sometimes costing millions in lost revenue.<\/span><\/p>\n

While marine biologists have identified broad patterns in bloom dynamics, California\u2019s diverse coastal landscapes and extensive human activity create many unknowns. One key driver of toxicity is nutrient imbalance\u2014essentially, a \u201cbad diet\u201d for the algae.<\/span><\/p>\n

Climate change and anthropogenic impacts are shifting the availability and composition of nutrients in coastal waters. <\/span>My job is to collect <\/span>Pseudo-nitzschia<\/span><\/i>\u00a0isolates during toxic events and run multivariate incubation experiments to understand how different stressors\u2014especially those tied to human activity\u2014affect bloom toxicity. This work can help us predict how blooms might change in the future and inform more effective coastal management strategies.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"
Mackett casts a bucket to collect surface seawater, which his lab uses to grow their phytoplankton cultures. In his lab, researchers are especially interested in comparing common phytoplankton species to Pseudo-nitzschia to see whether it can outcompete other species when exposed to fire debris. (Nick Neumann\/USC Wrigley Institute)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Originally, I planned to spend this summer comparing how blooms differ between California\u2019s spring and fall seasons\u2014and how climate change might influence those patterns. But nature had other plans. This year\u2019s bloom arrived months earlier than expected and became one of the most toxic events we\u2019ve seen in recent years. Hundreds of sea lions and dolphins washed ashore, and several coastal regions closed to fishing. Luckily, I was aboard a research cruise near Catalina Island just days before the first public reports of the bloom\u2014and was able to collect seawater samples at just the right time. Since then, our lab\u2014along with many collaborators\u2014has been working to understand what drove this early, intense bloom.<\/span><\/p>\n

One of my leading hypotheses is that runoff from recent wildfires in Los Angeles may have played a role. During our cruise, we didn\u2019t detect signs of significant upwelling, but the bloom followed shortly after a major rainstorm that likely flushed fire debris into the ocean. This has sparked an exciting line of inquiry: we\u2019ve been \u201cfeeding\u201d\u00a0<\/span>Pseudo-nitzschia <\/span><\/i>different types of fire-derived materials and monitoring their responses. So far, the algae appear to benefit from certain types of debris, though we\u2019re still working to pinpoint which components are responsible.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n <\/div><\/div>\n\n\n \n \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

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I hope my research helps shape policies that protect our marine ecosystems in a changing climate\u2014and inspires a broader awareness of how deeply our actions on land are connected to life in the ocean.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n \n <\/div>\n\n\n <\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n\n \n \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

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We’re also testing materials used in wildfire suppression to see if they contribute to\u00a0<\/span>Pseudo-nitzschia<\/span><\/i>‘s rapid growth or competitive edge, given that w<\/span>ildfires are becoming more frequent and intense in California. While it’s clear they can alter nutrient inputs to the ocean, we still don\u2019t fully understand how this affects harmful algal blooms. If we can identify specific runoff or fire-related compounds that trigger domoic acid production, we could help guide more sustainable fire management practices and improve coastal response strategies.<\/span><\/p>\n

There are many working groups that are helping maintain the health of our coastal waters and marine life during this recent bloom. I hope my research helps shape policies that protect our marine ecosystems in a changing climate\u2014and inspires a broader awareness of how deeply our actions on land are connected to life in the ocean.<\/span><\/p>\n

Bradley Mackett is supported by the USC Dornsife Wrigley Graduate Fellowship.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n <\/div><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":617,"featured_media":4294,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[41],"tags":[13,12],"class_list":["post-4277","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-research","tag-fellowship","tag-graduate"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nHow a Fast Food Feast Can Create a Toxic Beast: Investigating the Anthropogenic Impact of Toxic Algae Pseudo-nitzschia<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/wrigley\/2025\/07\/10\/investigating-the-anthropogenic-impact-of-toxic-algae-pseudo-nitzschia\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"How a Fast Food Feast Can Create a Toxic Beast: Investigating the Anthropogenic Impact of Toxic Algae Pseudo-nitzschia - 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