This study was funded by the Spanish national project EBITOX (Study of the biological and toxinologic aspects of benthic dinoflagellates associated with risks to the human health) CTQ2008-06754-C04-04. We are in debt with A. Alastuey (Institut Jaume Almera, CSIC) who let us the aerosol samplers. We also acknowledge the support given by the Water Catalan Agency (Generalitat de Catalunya), I. Manzano (CZ Veterinari, S.A. Porriño, Pontevedra) for providing sheep blood for testing the hemolytic activity, and the facilities kindly offered by the family Aceña from the Restaurant Pins Mar (Sant Andreu de Llavaneres).

Epiphytic dinoflagellates of the genus Ostreopsis have been related to harmful episodes in many Mediterranean coastal areas since 1998: respiratory difficulties, fever, and skin irritations affected people exposed to marine aerosols by recreational activities on the beach. Although this genus is widespread in most of the Mediterranean coasts, harmful events have been recorded only in some localities and periods. One of those sites has been studied for 3 years in a high frequency monitoring (EBITOX project) in order to elucidate the relationship between the microalgal community and its toxicity.

14th International Conference on Harmful Algae, 1-5 November 2010, Creta, Greece.-- 3 páginas.

Peer reviewed