If you walked along St. Petersburg Beach, Florida in the last four months, chances are you smelled the unpleasant odor of decaying fish caused by red tide. Red tide is produced by a harmful algae bloom from basic aquatic vegetation that has harmful effects on sea life and humans. Although scientists know what causes red tide, they do not know how to stop their effects. The phenomenon of red tide warrants further research to find a solid solution for its deadly affects that kill numerous fish, shellfish, mammals, birds, and bring illness to humans (Florida Red Tide FAQs, 2016). Red tide, by definition, is a toxic algae bloom in seawater that causes discoloration of the water, illness or death to many coastal animals, and can make people sick (Raloff, 2005). To be more specific, red tide is a more common name for “high concentrations of harmful marine alga, Karenia brevis” (Pierce & Henry, 2008). The Karenia Brevis toxin, named after Dr. Karen Steidinger, makes itself into mostly fish, but sometimes other vertebrates and can affects their central nervous system (Raloff, 2005). When a red tide occurs, it turns Florida’s beautiful Gulf beaches into a foul smelling area, littered with hundreds of rotting sea creatures. …show more content…
Scientists know the causes and harmful effects on not only the marine ecosystem, but also the community and economy of that area. Further research time should be spent on how to stop sea plants from rapidly producing K. Brevis toxins. In addition, there needs to be more research on how to control red tide first, and then move to finding out how to eradicate it. Scientists should also look into the sea life exposed to red tide; like, what in the Karenia Brevis toxin kills them and why? Can you develop something to make sea creatures immune to red tide? Finally, research should be done on if red tide blooms could overall worsen in the decades to
The Raritan Bay has over 200 years of waste and chemicals polluting its water to this day! The water that comes through the Raritan Bay is not safe to fish, swim, drink, or
During the beginning of the film the archetype, the fool, is used to represent how Don made the executive decision to not run the seabed test in order to save time and money . The cement on the seafloor is concrete that is put on the seafloor in order to stop the oil from breaking the surface. Over time the pressure from the oil pushes upwards causing the concrete to wear down. The seabed test makes sure there are no cracks or holes in the concert. Jimmy just got on the oil rig as soon as the crew left.
People are polluting the oceans which not only affects us but also affects the beautiful underwater habitats and interesting sea creatures. Two billion people within 30 miles of the coast create 100 metric tons of coastal plastic waste (Doc.1). This plastic waste can get caught around sea animals, injuring them or even killing them (OI). Oils spills can really hurt marine life (Doc.2). Some creatures could eat it or get covered in it. If the fish eats the oil and then someone or something eats the fish they could get extremely ill. When there are excess nutrients in the water algal blooms occur, which is when algae has too many nutrients and reproduces in large numbers, this can also hurt people (OI). For these reasons and many more we should
Fascinating topic knew absolutely nothing about red tide or the cause. Living in North Dakota
Red tide is a very serious issue that severely affects the West Coast of Florida. Red tide is defined as a toxic bloom in red dinoflagellates. It has major impacts on its surroundings. Algal species that have harmful effects are commonly referred to as Harmful Algal Blooms (HABs). Toxic red tide is threatening tourism in West Florida as well as wildlife, specifically the endangered manatees as it extends down the Florida coast. When conditions are right, dinoflagellates will bloom in very large numbers. Red tides name comes from the color that the blooms give the water when there are high concentrations of algae. Don Anderson, a senior scientist at the Woods
The causes that the ocean near Florida has turned into a guacamole, gunky sea is because of the algae and chemicals. The thick algae from Lake Okeechobee is making the manatees in the Atlantic Ocean struggling to breathe. The manatees are Native there and they are being affected from this man made disaster. There was a recent study, where scientists collected samples and tested it. The result was that twelve toxins that are health risking, according to Laura Parker from National Georgraphic.
Did you ever wonder how things you do everyday effect the Chesapeake Bay watershed and Its tributaries? Well, It turns out to be not so good. One of the main causes for the Bay’s bad health are nutrients which are caused by excess nitrogen and phosphorus in the air and water. Plants and animals need nutrients to survive but when too many nutrients are in the water they fuel the growth of algae blooms and create conditions that are harmful for aquatic creatures.
In this research paper I will talk about how a large decrease in the algae population in the Chesapeake Bay will cause problems for not just fish and other species but the people who fish and make a living off of it. A large decrease in algae population will have a domino effect on the food chain. Having a major decrease in algae will hurt how others species live and protect themselves.
Fish are among the ones who are affected the most. According to myfwc.com there have been large amounts of fish dying off because of the red tide recorded back to 1844. The fish usually die because their gills stop working and death in most cases, is immediate. According to myfwc.com “Fish typically die when exposed to 250,000 K. brevis cells per liter of water, although this threshold varies with bloom concentration and exposure.” In certain instances, fish die off has been so high that it has affected sharks because of how much food was readily
In addition, the nutrients from these sources cause harm to the Gulf of Mexico because they cause an increase of algae growth in the area usually known as red tide. The algae releases toxins in the water, killing many of the marine mammal life
When there are excessive loads of Nitrogen and Phosphorous in the water, Alage can “bloom” to harmful levels, changing water color, and eventually stripping dissolved oxygen from the water when they die, fall to the bottom, and decay. This dissolved oxygen is critical to the health of the Chesapeake Bay’s critters and
Not much can be done to stop the bleeding in the Florida Bay as of now but if someone such as myself who is only in high school can bring awareness to this issue, it shows how powerful and important this die off is to us in South Florida. If more people bring awareness to what is going on in the Florida Bay, we can eventually garner more attention to this issue from the government and environmental organizations around the world so we can work together to at least slow down the rapid sea grass die off and to think of long term solutions towards “Making the Florida Bay Healthy Again!” While I was down doing research on the water, I was angered and disgusted to see the water with a yellow “fog”, which is just a symptom of the sea grass-die off, imagine seeing the Florida Bay like this for years, without changing back to its original, beautiful, clear state
Not only does the environment get wrecked but this algae has caused human death before (CRISPS). Off the northern coast of Sabah in East malaysia, 7 people died among 202 affected by Paralytic shellfish poisoning. This is due to red tide producing a class of neurotoxins called brevetoxins. These toxins not only get into our food supply but they become aerosolized by the surf and winds. When breathed in or ingested they are known to cause dizziness, numbness, vomiting, and even partial paralysis. Since this is still a relatively knew problem in the medical community, long term effects are still unknown. Among the neurotoxic effects, red tide can bring respiratory problems as I mentioned earlier. Getting up early to surf before school was a normal thing for me even when red tide was in full effect. I would come into school with bloodshot watery eyes, my skin and lungs burning only after an hour in the surf. The effects really sneak up on you if you don’t understand it is
The Collier County Health Department has confirmed that all of these pollutants are present in Naples Bay, some to an alarming degree. Each year, volunteers pick up several tons of general trash from the Naples Bay area, all in one cleanup day! Over 70 water areas in South Florida have been posted for dangerous levels of Mercury, a bad actor in the heavy metals category. Pollution is a silent killer, because it takes expensive sampling and measurement to determine its presence, after the fact. For those people that eat fish (probably 99% of us), the risks of illness are very real. Even if a fish was caught offshore or down south in the 10,000 Islands it may have spent earlier years surviving in a polluted environment. Our clam industry left southwest Florida a long time ago. These bivalves are noted for their early-warning features; sort of our
Since the beginning of the human race, people have flocked to the ocean. The largest civilizations were built in fertile, coastal areas. Oceanographer and professor at Stanford University, Mark Denny, opened up his book, How the Ocean Works: An Introduction to Oceanography, with the statement, “Throughout history, men and women have been drawn to the sea” (Denny 1). Here in Hawaii, this is especially notable. Hawaii was discovered by islanders who were adventuring across the sea, using it to feed them and working with the currents on their journey. Now, hundreds of years later, visiting the white sandy beaches and crystal blue waters of Hawaii is on nearly the whole world’s bucket list, but it might not be around for much longer. This would be devastating to the planet, as environmental expert Jennifer Weeks says oceans supply most of the Earth’s food and oxygen (Weeks). Not only does the sea provide the most basic necessities for survival, but it has also provided “...Anticancer and antiviral drugs based on substances produced by coral reef species...” (Weeks). Despite all the research that has been done, and is currently underway right this moment, we still know less about the ocean than we do about space! Elisabeth Mann Borgese, an expert in environmentalism, has written, “Our ignorance of the ocean is profound, and although we have learned much during the last hundred years, our knowledge of ocean processes and life in the oceans will remain forever incomplete” (Borgese 23). As Borgese said, it is impossible to learn all there is to know about the sea, but knowing what to do to fix the state of the world’s oceans is vital and attainable information.