The Core Research Project: HABs in upwelling systems was initiated by means of an Open Science Meeting in Portugal in November 2003. Eight key questions were formulated to address our understanding of the ecology and oceanography of HABs in upwelling systems. These questions related to the identification of adaptive strategies that characterize HAB species in upwelling systems, including seeding strategies, the influence of small-scale physical processes and nutrient supply in affecting HAB population dynamics, the role of genetic predisposition versus environmental conditions in toxin production, the influence of coastal morphology and bathymetry in determining the distribution of HABs, the relative importance of cross-shelf and along-shore advection for HABs, and the linkages of HAB events and climate. Following a comparative review of the ecology and oceanography of HABs in upwelling systems through publication of a special issue of Progress in Oceanography in 2010 we highlight further advances in addressing the above questions. We specifically examine achievements in terms of the overall goal of GEOHAB of prediction supported by observation and modelling systems. The comparative approach, as endorsed by GEOHAB, is considered to have added value to regional or national science programmes. Furthermore the CRP is deemed to have provided effective direction to HAB research in upwelling systems over the past decade which has improved the availability of comparable data. Prediction of HABs nevertheless remains limited by ecological complexity. However increasingly realistic hydrodynamic models with high spatial resolution now lay the groundwork for better prediction through incorporation of better resolved ecological properties and processes

Global Ecology and Oceanography of Hatmful algal Blooms (GEOHAB): synthesis open science meeting, Paris, France, 24-26 April 2013

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