In August 2020 a team of national and international researchers made an expedition with the research vessel R/V Uthörn. One of the aims of the expedition was sampling of the harmful algal bloom (HAB) species Alexandrium pseudogonyaulax, which has dominated the summer plankton community in Limfjorden for the last ten years. The researchers wished to investigate if this situation persists and to measure the occurrence of toxins produced by this species. Furthermore, occurrence of other HAB species and their associated toxins was explored.
Marine Biological Station Rønbjerg was used as a logistic basis and accommodation for the participants, and the expedition was organized in day trips from the ports of Thyborøn, Løgstør and Aalborg. Samples were collected on day trips in Limfjorden and adjacent water masses up to the western Baltic Sea.
The core research group consisted of researches from:
Additional research groups from the Helmholtz Center for Marine Biodiversity and University of Aalborg participated in the expedition. One group from the Helmholtz Center for Marine Biodiversity collected samples for eDNA analyses and a group from the University of Aalborg measured the level of microplastics in the water.
