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CAMBRIDGE, MD (November 6, 2014)--The “food” sources that support Florida red tides are more diverse and complex than previously realized, according to five years’ worth of research on red tide and nutrients published recently as an entire special edition of the scientific journal The multi-partner project was funded by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's ECOHAB program* (described below) and included 14 research papers from seven institutions. The research team studied four red tide blooms caused by the harmful algae species Karenia brevis in 2001, ’07, ’08 and ’09, plus the non-bloom year 2010. Their goal was to understand which nutrients supported these red tides and the extent to which coastal pollution might contribute, helping reveal what drives red tide in southwest Florida. The project documented the microbiology, physiology, ecology and physical oceanography factors affecting red tides in new detail, provided a synthesis of results and offered suggestions for resource managers addressing red tide in the coastal waters of southwest Florida.
Florida red tide blooms — which occur naturally in the Gulf of Mexico and most frequently off southwest Florida — are higher-than-normal concentrations of the microscopic algae species K. brevis, a plant-like organism whose toxins can kill fish and other marine species, make shellfish toxic to eat and cause respiratory irritation in humans. These blooms occurred centuries before the mid-to-late twentieth century population boom along Florida’s coast. Now, with large numbers of coastal residents and visitors in Florida, blooms can significantly affect public health and the economy. Public information and short-term forecasts help mitigate red tide impacts, but ongoing research is critical to inform resource managers working to understand and potentially reduce nutrients available to blooms. “Data go a long way toward increasing our understanding,” said Cynthia Heil, Senior Research Scientist at Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences in Maine, who co-edited the special issue of Harmful Algae and was formerly with FWC’s Fish and Wildlife Research Institute. “This report, which includes data from four different red tides and numerous laboratory studies and modeling efforts by biological, chemical and physical oceanographers, shows the collaborative efforts needed to understand why Florida red tides are so frequent and harmful in this region.” Co-editor Judith O’Neil, Research Associate Professor at the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science, added, “We learned that K. brevis is an adaptable and flexible organism. We identified 12 different sources of nutrients that it can take up and use. One of the most interesting things that hadn’t previously been taken into account is this organism’s ability to not just use sunlight, like plants, but to also consume other single-celled organisms as a nutrient source. Additionally, its migratory behavior and directed swimming allows K. brevis access to nutrient sources everywhere it finds them — at the surface, bottom and throughout the water column.” According to the study, K. brevis can get the nutrients nitrogen and/or phosphorous from the following sources (bold sources were newly linked to K. brevis blooms through the ECOHAB project):
The researchers concluded that many of these nutrient sources are individually more than enough to support observed blooms, but no single nutrient source is solely responsible. “Until now, effective management of harmful algal blooms caused by K. brevis was complicated because we didn’t know enough about how different nutrient sources and forms taken up by K. brevis interacted with the physical environment,” said Matt Garrett of the Fish and Wildlife Research Institute, who managed the ECOHAB project. “This project provides data that can help inform management recommendations on how to control nutrient sources and possibly improve forecasting models. The special issue of Harmful Algae includes the following management recommendations:
*This research was funded by NOAA’s NCCOS Ecology and Oceanography of Harmful Algal Blooms Program (ECOHAB): Karenia program — a five-year collaborative research project funded by NOAA’s Coastal Ocean Program. The effort was led by the FWC’s Fish and Wildlife Research Institute in St. Petersburg, Fla., and involved Co-Principal Investigators from the College of William and Mary’s Virginia Institute of Marine Science (VIMS); Mote Marine Laboratory; University of Miami; Old Dominion University; University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science; Horn Point Laboratory; and the University of South Florida. Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences, an independent not-for-profit research institution on the coast of Maine, conducts research ranging from microbial oceanography to large-scale ocean processes that affect the global environment. Recognized as a leader in Maine’s emerging innovation economy, the Laboratory’s research, education, and technology transfer programs are spurring significant economic growth in the state. MEDIA CONTACTS Amy Pelsinsky, University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science, 410-330-1389, apelsinsky@umces.edu Darlene Crist, Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences, 207-315-2567, x 103, 207-315-1976 (mobile), dtcrist@bigelow.org Brandon Basino, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, 727-502-4789, 727-224-3674 (mobile), brandon.basino@myfwc.com Hayley Rutger, Mote Marine Laboratory, 941-374-0081, hrutger@mote.org UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND CENTER FOR ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE The University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science unleashes the power of science to transform the way society understands and manages the environment. By conducting cutting-edge research into today's most pressing environmental problems, we are developing new ideas to help guide our state, nation, and world toward a more environmentally sustainable future through five research centers—the Appalachian Laboratory in Frostburg, the Chesapeake Biological Laboratory in Solomons, the Horn Point Laboratory in Cambridge, the Institute of Marine and Environmental Technology in Baltimore, and the Maryland Sea Grant College in College Park. www.umces.edu # # # |
