Occurrence and distribution of phycotoxins in the Antarctic Ocean

Lipophilic phycotoxins (LPTs) and domoic acid (DA) in Antarctic seawater, as well as parts of the South Pacific and the Southern Indian Oceans were systematically investigated. DA and six LPTs, namely pectenotoxin-2 (PTX2), okadaic acid (OA), yessotoxin (YTX), homo-yessotoxin (h-YTX), 13-desmethyl spirolide C (SPX1), and gymnodimine (GYM), were detected. PTX2, as the dominant LPTs, was widely distributed in seawater surrounding Antarctica, whereas OA, YTX, and h-YTX were irregularly distributed across the region. The total concentration of LPTs in surface seawater ranged from 0.10 to 13.57 ng/L (mean = 2.20 ng/L). ∑LPT levels were relatively higher in the eastern sea areas of Antarctica than in the western sea areas. PTX2 was the main LPT in the vertical profiles, and the PTX2 concentration was significantly higher in the epipelagic zone than water depths below 200 m. The predominant sources of PTX2 and OA in Antarctic sea areas are likely to be Dinophysis.