 Harmful Algae and Red Tides PrimerLearn the basics about harmful algae and red tides Featured Articles August 8, 2008Researchers Successfully Forecast 2008 Red Tide A new computer model offers officials and fishermen a means to help minimize health risks and economic losses caused by shellfish tainted by the toxic algae, Alexandrium fundyense. Source: Oceanus Magazine  November 12, 2004The Growing Problem of Harmful Algae Tiny plants pose a potent threat to those who live in and eat from the sea Source: Oceanus Magazine  May 31, 2006Building a Computer Model to Forecast Red Tides To protect consumers and shellfishermen from Maine to Massachusetts, WHOI scientists are seeking a way to predict when and where Alexandrium fundyense algae will bloom and to explain how and why. Source: Oceanus Magazine  January 14, 2005A Fatal Attraction for Harmful Algae Clay sticks to algae and sinks, offering a possible solution to an expensive and deadly problem Source: Oceanus Magazine  June 1, 2005Seeing Red in New England Waters WHOI researchers detect a massive bloom of algae before it hits the coast Source: Oceanus Magazine  December 22, 2004Red Tides and Dead Zones The coastal ocean is suffering from an overload of nutrients Source: Oceanus Magazine  May 26, 2005Risks and Remedies from the Sea Researchers from Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, the Marine Biological Laboratory (MBL), and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) have embarked on a novel collaboration to investigate harmful algal blooms, ocean-borne pathogens, and potential pharmaceuticals from marine sources. Source: Oceanus Magazine  July 15, 2005Red Tide—Gone for Now, But Back Next Year? WHOI researchers extend investigations of the Alexandrium bloom of 2005 and look for signs of future trouble Source: Oceanus Magazine The Harmful Algae Page » Visit Web site What Are Harmful Algal Blooms? They can be red, brown, or invisible, and they're completely independent of the tides » Visit Web site Watch List of Seafood Affected by Harmful Algae People don't usually get sick from harmful algae, except by eating seafood that has concentrated the toxins. Here is a list of the fish and shellfish to look out for » Visit Web site Harmful Algae Photo Gallery Everything from up-close photographs taken with an electron microscope to birds-eye views of red tide in the water » Visit Web site Human Illnesses Associated with Harmful Algae Brief summaries of each type of poisoning, with links to extensive information on the toxins, their symptoms, and diagnosis and treatment » Visit Web site Distribution of Harmful Algal Blooms in the U.S. Where and how frequent are harmful algal blooms? Find out here » Visit Web site WHOI News Releases April 22, 2009Researchers Report Potential for ‘Moderately Large’ Red Tide Outbreak in the Gulf of Maine Region for 2009 The potential for an outbreak of the phenomenon commonly called “red tide” is expected to be “moderately large” this spring and summer, according to researchers with the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution and North Carolina State University. Source: Media Relations  April 9, 2008Underwater Microscope Helps Prevent Shellfish Poisoning Through the use of an automated, underwater cell analyzer developed at WHOI, researchers and coastal managers were recently able to detect a bloom of harmful marine algae in the Gulf of Mexico and prevent human consumption of tainted shellfish. Source: Media Relations  April 24, 2008Researchers See Potential for Significant 2008 "Red Tide" Season Researchers from WHOI and North Carolina State University are preparing for a potentially big bloom of harmful algae in New England waters this spring. A combination of abundant beds of algal seeds and excess winter precipitation have set the stage for an Alexandrium bloom similar to the historic “red tide” of 2005. Weather patterns and ocean conditions over the next few months will determine whether this year’s algal growth affects coastal shellfishing. Source: Media Relations  April 13, 2006New Maps Provide Clues to the Historic 2005 Red Tide Outbreak in New England And Hints for 2006 WHOI scientists have completed two extensive survey and mapping efforts to better understand why the 2005 New England red tide was so severe and to suggest what might lie ahead. Source: Media Relations  May 26, 2005WHOI Scientists Monitor Largest Red Tide Outbreak in 12 Years in Massachusetts Bay Faced with a "perfect storm" of red tide, WHOI scientists share data quickly with public health officials Source: Media Relations Research ProjectsResearch in the Anderson Lab » ECOHAB - Gulf of Maine » Toxic Blooms in Massachusetts Bay » Alexandrium Biogeography » Molecular Probes for Harmful Algae » Physiology of Toxin Production and others » Visit Web site Center for Oceans and Human Health » Alexandrium population biology in the Gulf of Maine: Abstract » Hydrodynamic forcing of Alexandrium population biology » Human pathogens and coastal ocean processes » Microecology and evolution of two marine pathogens » Visit Web site ECOHAB - Gulf of Maine WHOI-based, multi-institution study of the Ecology of Harmful Algal Blooms » Visit Web site WHOI Researchers, Labs, and Groups Don AndersonBiology » Visit Web site  Dennis McGillicuddyApplied Ocean Physics and Engineering » Visit Web site  Bruce KeaferBiology » Visit Web site  Woods Hole Center for Oceans and Human Health » Visit Web site Testimonies & BriefingsDon Anderson on Harmful Algal Blooms [PDF] Given before the House Subcommittee on Environment, Technology, and Standards, March 13, 2003 » Visit Web site In the NewsToxic Red Tide Hits New England Shellfish The summer of 2005 saw New England's worst harmful algal bloom in 30 years National Public Radio, June 6, 2005 » Visit Web site Scientists Wary of Red Tide Recurrence Don Anderson suggests 2005's massive red tide may have sown the seeds for another one next year ABCnews.com, July 14, 2005 » Visit Web site Massachusetts Declares Red Tide Disaster CBS News, June 9, 2005 » Visit Web site Algae Found To Produce Potential Neurotoxin Scientific American, April 5, 2005 » Visit Web site Tracking Tiny Critters that Have a Big Economic Punch WHOI scientists track Alexandrium algae in the Gulf of Maine as part of the ECOHAB monitoring project Christian Science Monitor, September 17, 1998 » Visit Web site Danube Algae Dams on the Danube River of Europe may have made toxic algae blooms more common in the Black Sea National Public Radio, March 26, 1997 » Visit Web site Science PublicationsAnderson, D. M. 1997. Turning back the harmful red tide. Nature 388:513-514.Burkholder, J. M., and H. B. Glasgow Jr. 1997. The ichthyotoxic dinoflagellate Pfiesteria piscicida: behavior, impacts and environmental controls. Limnology and Oceanography 42:1052-1075. Fenical, W., D. Baden, M. Burg, C. De Ville De Goyet, D. J. Grimes, M. Katz, N. Marcus, S. Pomponi, P. Rhines, P. Tester, and J. Vena. 1999. From monsoons to microbes: understanding the ocean's role in human health. National Academy Press, Washington, DC. Grattan, L. M., D. Oldach, T. M. Perl, M. H. Lowitt, D. L. Matuszak, C. Dickson, C. Parrott, R. C. Shoemaker, C. L. Kauffman, M. P. Wasserman, J. R. Hebel, P. Charache, and J. G. Morris, Jr. 1998. Learning and memory difficulties after environmental exposure to waterways containing toxin-producing Pfiesteria or Pfiesteria-like dinoflagellates. Lancet 352:532-539. Hallegraeff, G. M. 1993. A review of harmful algal blooms and their apparent global increase. Phycologia 32:79-99. Hallegraeff, G. M., and C. J. Bolch. 1992. Transport of diatom and dinoflagellate resting spores via ship's ballast water: implications for plankton biogeography and aquaculture. Journal of Plankton Research 14:1067-1084. Hoagland, P., D. M. Anderson, Y. Kaoru, and A. W. White. 2002. Average annual economic impacts of harmful algal blooms in the United States: some preliminary estimates. Estuaries 25(4b):677-695. Humborg, C., V. Ittekkot, A. Cociasu, and B. V. Bodungen. 1997. Effect of Danube River dam on Black Sea biogeochemistry and ecosystem structure. Nature 386:385-388. Nicolaou, K. C., F. P. J. T. Rutjes, E. A. Theodorakis, J. Tiebes, M. Sato, and E. Untersteller. Total synthesis of brevetoxin B. 3. Final strategy and completion. Journal of the American Chemical Society 117:10252:10263. Smayda, T. 1990. Novel and nuisance phytoplankton blooms in the sea: evidence for a global epidemic. pp. 29-40 in E. Granéli, B. Sundstrom, L. Edler, and D. M. Anderson (eds.), Toxic Marine Phytoplankton, Elsevier, New York. Domoic Acid and Pseudo-nitzschia references: more than 750 references compiled by Fisheries and Oceans Canada Other Sites We RecommendFederal Agencies and Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs)
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