TITLE: MYSTERY ALGAE IN ST. JOHNS MAY BE POTENT KILLER SCIENTISTS THINK THE ALGAE COULD BE CONNECTED TO MASSIVE FISH KILLS IN NORTH CAROLINA AND MARYLAND.
BYLINE: Katherine Bouma of The Sentinel Staff
EST. PAGES: 1
DATE: 09/18/97
DOCID: ORSE72601465
SOURCE: Orlando Sentinel; ORSE
EDITION: METRO; SECTION: LOCAL & STATE; PAGE: D1
(Copyright 1997)
Tiny algae linked to massive fish kills in two other states
have been found in the St. Johns River north of Jacksonville,
scientists said Wednesday.
The algae, as yet unnamed, could be the link between the deaths of millions of fish in Maryland and North Carolina, said Jan Landsberg, a scientist with the Florida Marine Research Institute in St. Petersburg.
The algae are almost identical to the so-called "cell
from hell" pfiesteria organism that was found near the catastrophic
fish kills in North Carolina. Pfiesteria was not found near a
similar fish kill in Maryland, but the unnamed organism was present
at both catastrophes.
"Now we're asking, 'What are we looking at? Is it toxic?'
" Landsberg said. "We need to know if it's involved
in these public health risks."
Scientists chose to sample the portion of the St. Johns River
north of Jacksonville because ulcerated fish have been found there
since the mid-1980s, Landsberg said. At that point in the river,
the St. Johns has a mix of fresh water and salt water, as do the
sites of the massive fish kills in North Carolina and Maryland.
Scientists think the tiny algae may bloom in the presence of
pollution, particularly the huge amounts of nitrogen and phosphorous
that result from human or animal waste.
In North Carolina, the fish kills were near huge hog-farming
operations. The unnamed microbe was found in the St. Johns River
near a pipe discharging treated wastewater, said Bill Graf, a
spokesman for the St. Johns River Water Management District.
"This is very different from the river you and I know
and love in eastern Orange County," Graf said. "It's
a very industrialized area."
The organism is not expected to be a problem in Central Florida
because the St. Johns flows north.
Local officials have not closed the St. Johns River to fishing,
and no human health effects from the organism have been noted
in Florida, Graf said. Pfiesteria has been linked to neurological
problems, memory loss and open sores on humans.
Landsberg said pfiesteria and the unnamed organism are related
to another microorganism - the one that caused the red tide that
plagued the west coast of Florida last year and caused the deaths
of hundreds of endangered manatees.
Some scientists think such problems are becoming more common,
although Landsberg said it's equally possible that such events
are simply better documented now.
"We also have better technology now," she said. "It's possible these new (organisms) are not new."
SEQN: 72601465
OTHER TERMS: CAUSE; SCIENCE RESEARCH PROBE