Harmful algal blooms and management strategies for control in marine and freshwater aquatic ecosystems: A comprehensive bibliometric and network analysis from 1997 to 2024

The prevalence of harmful algal blooms (HABs) is rising in many regions globally. Blooms are a major factor in the degradation of water quality, unpleasant odours, toxicity, fish mortality, and ultimately disruptions to the food web. The incidence of toxic blooms is associated with economic losses, various kinds of resources impacted, and the quantity of poisons and harmful organisms have all escalated significantly. Some of this expansion has been attributed to storms, currents, and other natural phenomena, but human actions are also often implicated. Humans have facilitated the invasion of harmful species via ballast water and have augmented coastal waterways with substantial and escalating amounts of industrial, agricultural, and sewage effluents. This study analyses several control and mitigation measures in response to the detrimental effects of HABs, emphasizing sustainable solutions. Although successful in mitigating algal populations, conventional chemical and physical methods have ecological hazards and require substantial resources. Extensive research has been conducted worldwide on the control of HABs. To better understand the diverse management practices in HABs, a bibliometric analysis was undertaken using the Scopus database. The purpose of this research is to offer an overview of publishing patterns and prominent and significant authors, nations, journals, institutions, and financial sponsors as described in the 1264 articles published in the scientific journals on HABs management. The search strategy involved selecting the article title, abstract, and keywords from Scopus (TITLE-ABS-KEY (Harmful AND Algal AND Bloom OR Algal AND Bloom AND Management OR Control OR Mitigation OR Prevention OR Remove). After searching in the Scopus database, 3906 publications were retrieved. Various criteria were used to screen these entries for inclusion and deletion, as well as duplicates. Research articles and reviews published in English from 1997 to 2024 related to HABs were selected, excluding non-English publications, books, and chapters. Ultimately, 1264 qualifying articles were retained for analysis. Co-authorship, co-occurrence, citation network, cluster, and co-citation analyses were performed to elucidate the intricate interactions among numerous aspects in the control of HABs. Although the majority of research conducted so far has been limited to laboratory environments, using these methodologies in field settings encounters challenges owing to the intricacy of natural ecosystems. This study highlights the present research status on HAB management, offers a helpful reference for scientists to discover possible prospects for cooperation in adjacent domains, and leads future research orientations to cross-disciplinary and multi-perspective methods.