{
  "id": 11042757,
  "title": "Ocean predator chemical cues could provide early warnings for toxic algal blooms",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/30/ocean-predator-chemical-cues-could-provide-early-warnings-for-toxic",
  "topic": "science",
  "section": "Science",
  "published": "2026-09-30T22:10:07.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Phys.org",
    "slug": "phys-org",
    "url": "https://phys.org/news/2026-09-ocean-predator-chemical-cues-early.html"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "A team of marine scientists at the University of California, Santa Cruz has developed a novel method to predict harmful algal blooms (HABs) by measuring chemical alarm cues produced by microscopic predators, potentially saving coastal communities from the devastating effects of toxic blooms. Published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the study demonstrates that passive monitoring of these cues, known as copepodamides, can forecast toxic algal blooms up to seven weeks in advance, a significant improvement over previous methods that typically provide only one week of warning.\n\nTraditionally, ocean forecast models have focused on bottom-up factors such as ocean currents, water temperature, and nutrient upwelling. However, this new top-down approach captures chemical signals between marine grazers and algae, providing a crucial early warning system. Harmful algal blooms are primarily driven by Pseudo-nitzschia, a genus of marine diatoms that produce the potent neurotoxin domoic acid. When copepods, tiny herbivorous crustaceans, graze on phytoplankton, they release copepodamides, which serve as an aquatic \"predator scent\" or alarm signal. Pseudo-nitzschia detects these cues and increases domoic acid production to deter predators.\n\nThe research team adapted solid-phase adsorption toxin tracking (SPATT), a passive sampling technology, to measure ambient copepodamides in open seawater. Over a 28-month campaign at the Santa Cruz Municipal Wharf in Monterey Bay, the team showed that SPATT samplers could reliably capture copepodamide concentrations, which correlated with zooplankton net counts. Lab experiments confirmed that exposing local Pseudo-nitzschia strains to copepodamides triggered a tenfold surge in cellular toxin production.\n\nBy building statistical prediction models using data from Monterey Bay, researchers found that monitoring copepodamide cues with SPATT resins could predict Pseudo-nitzschia blooms six weeks in advance with high accuracy. This provided a seven-week predictive lead time for domoic acid contamination in sentinel mussels, compared to conventional models that only achieved one-week lead time. Crucially, copepodamide detection significantly reduced false-negative rates, allowing managers to alert coastal communities to high-toxin events 22% more often than standard toxin tracking.\n\nDomoic acid bioaccumulates up the food chain, posing severe health risks to marine mammals, seabirds, and humans. When toxin levels exceed federal safety thresholds, emergency harvesting bans are implemented, causing significant economic losses for coastal communities. This new method offers a reliable early warning system, potentially saving lives and reducing the financial impacts of toxic algal blooms.",
  "summary": "A team of marine scientists led by researchers at the University of California, Santa Cruz, has developed a new approach to predicting harmful algal blooms (HABs), changing how oceanographers track these hazardous marine events.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}