An Unprecedented Bloom of Oceanic Dinoflagellates ( spp.) Inside a Fjord within a Highly Dynamic Multifrontal Ecosystem in Chilean Patagonia.

At the end of summer 2020, a moderate (~10 cells L) bloom of potential fish-killing spp. was detected in samples from a 24 h study focused on spp. in the outer reaches of the Pitipalena-Añihue Marine Protected Area. Previous events with devastating effects on caged salmon and the wild fauna of Chilean Patagonia had been restricted to offshore waters, eventually reaching the southern coasts of Chiloé Island through the channel connecting the Chiloé Inland Sea to the Pacific Ocean. This event occurred at the onset of the COVID-19 lockdown when monitoring activities were slackened. A few salmon mortalities were related to other fish-killing species (e.g., ). As in the major event in 1999, the austral summer of 2020 was characterised by negative anomalies in rainfall and river outflow and a severe drought in March. spp. appeared to have been advected in a warm (14-15 °C) surface layer of estuarine saline water (S > 21). A lack of daily vertical migration patterns and cells dispersed through the whole water column suggested a declining population. Satellite images confirmed the decline, but gave evidence of dynamic multifrontal patterns of temperature and chl distribution. A conceptual circulation model is proposed to explain the hypothetical retention of the bloom by a coastally generated eddy coupled with the semidiurnal tides at the mouth of Pitipalena Fjord. Thermal fronts generated by (topographically induced) upwelling around the Tic Toc Seamount are proposed as hot spots for the accumulation of swimming dinoflagellates in summer in the southern Chiloé Inland Sea. The results here provide helpful information on the environmental conditions and water column structure favouring occurrence. Thermohaline properties in the surface layer in summer can be used to develop a risk index (positive if the EFW layer is thin or absent).