Fig. 1: Algal toxins and species.
From: Bowhead whale faeces link increasing algal toxins in the Arctic to ocean warming
a, Prevalence of DA and STX in faecal samples from bowhead whales (n = 205) harvested for subsistence purposes during autumn of 2004 to 2022. Each point represents the proportion of whales that tested positive of the total whales sampled for that year depicted by point size (n = 3–19 whales per year). Horizontal distribution in points is an added jitter effect for effective visualization of similar toxin prevalences among years (points). Dashed lines are violin plots that visualize the distribution of prevalence data for each algal toxin (green for DA and red for STX). b, Distribution of A. catenella cyst beds on the Chukchi shelf and in the western Beaufort Sea, aggregated from samples collected from 2018 to 2022. c, Cross-sectional view of an A. catenella bloom detected in August 2019 over the western Beaufort cyst bed (see rectangle in b, looking along shore towards the west). Circles indicate cell concentrations throughout the water column (cells l−1; Supplementary Table 2) and triangles indicate underlying cyst densities in the sediment (cysts cm−3). Background colour displays water temperatures, which were anomalously warm during this event, and density contours are overlaid in white (kg m−3). d, SEM image showing a partial P. cf. seriata frustule isolated from faeces. Scale bar, 2 μm. e, Photo of a dissected bowhead bowel during faecal sample collection.
