BACKGROUND BRIEFING: Bloomin' Algae! The latest science behind the SA algal bloom

Embargoed until: Publicly released: 2025-11-06 10:37

Australia; International; NSW; SA

Bahudhara

As we head into summer, many people are wondering what will happen to South Australia's algal bloom that has been plaguing the state since the beginning of Autumn. Research led by the University of Technology Sydney, which is currently undergoing peer review, has identified the dominant species of algae responsible for the toxins within the bloom - Karenia cristata. This is the first time this species has been detected in Australian waters. It is one of five Karenia species present, and the only one known to produce brevetoxins. The briefing is an opportunity for journalists to hear from leading Australian and international experts and ask questions about the algal bloom and why it matters for the whole of Australia.

Media release

From: Australian Science Media Centre

Professor Shauna Murray is a Professor in the School of Life Sciences at UTS and an author of the preprint study
Dr Tim Harwood is Manager of Food and Bioactives at Cawthron Institute (NZ) and Deputy Director of the New Zealand Food Safety Science and Research Centre.
Dr Barb Kirkpatrick is a research scientist in the Depart of Oceanography at Texas A&M University (USA) and is a member of the Florida Harmful Algal Bloom Taskforce
Dr Cynthia Heil is Director of the Mote Red Tide Institute Mitigation Research Program Manager, Mote Marine Laboratory (USA)

Date: Thu 06 Nov 2025
Start Time: 12 noon AEDT
Duration: Approx 45 min
Venue: Online - Zoom

Note: This event is only open to journalists. If you are a journalist and didn't receive the link and would like to register for the briefing, please contact the AusSMC on info@smc.org.au; 08 7120 8666

Attachments

Note: Not all attachments are visible to the general public. Research URLs will go live after the embargo ends.

Research University of Technology Sydney (UTS), Web page Preprint (currently undergoing peer review)

Other Government of South Australia, Web page For more information about the bloom

Journal/
conference: Prepint (BioRchiv)

Research:Paper

Organisation/s: Australian Science Media Centre

Funder: N/A

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