Abstract
Karenia brevis is a toxic dinoflagellate that can accumulate into red tide blooms, linked to adverse environmental, economic, and human health costs. At the Florida Mote Red Tide Initiative program, a state-of-the-art mitigation testing facility attracts scientists worldwide. This study aimed to explore the relationship between Karenia brevis growth rate and water flow, using the experimental flow generators at this facility. A total of six tanks were stocked with similar initial concentration of Karenia brevis, which were kept in culture at the indoor facility. Three tanks were controls, while the other three were subjected to a 20% of maximum flow setting created from a flow generator pump. Water velocities at the 20% setting were recorded to be between 0.3949 m/s and 0.4589 m/s. At various project stages, cell counts were taken and analyzed. Results showed that there were no significant growth rate differences (p>0.05) between the control and experimental tanks. The findings for this project suggest that at low levels of water flow, other factors such as nutrient concentration, temperature, salinity, or microbial dynamics are likely more important to bloom formation. These results also provide proof of concept for the feasibility of using Maxspect Gyre 330 series flow pumps in an experimental setting. Future studies should focus on higher flow generator settings to test if there is any effect on Karenia brevis growth.