A research team from the Ramón Margalef Multidisciplinary Institute for Environmental Studies (IMEM) at the University of Alicante (UA), in collaboration with researchers from the University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria (ULPGC), has confirmed for the first time the presence of the genus Gambierdiscus on the Spanish peninsular coast, specifically on the coastline of Dénia and Xàbia, in the north of the province of Alicante. This discovery follows the first-ever detection of a diguatoxin-producing microalga in the waters of the peninsular Mediterranean, reports the press service of the University of Alicante.

The journal Harmful Algae News, published by the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of UNESCO, has reported on the finding by the University of Alicante research team, which includes César Bordehore, professor in the Department of Ecology at the University of Alicante and researcher at IMEM; Eva Fonfría Subirós and John Yáñez Dobson, both from IMEM; and Emilio Soler Onís, from the Marine Ecophysiology Group and the Canary Islands Observatory of Harmful Algae.

Microalgae of the genus Gambierdiscus accumulate in the larger sizes of certain fish species, and their consumption can cause toxicity problems in humans. However, according to César Bordehore, the concentrations of toxic phytoplankton cells found on the Iberian Peninsula are not alarming. "There are preventative measures in place to avoid the entry of fish with high levels of toxin into the market," he added, "the fish that is distributed is safe."

The initial hypothesis regarding the presence of this type of microalgae in the Mediterranean is related to rising temperatures, as they originate in warm tropical waters.