In overlapping venues on 17-18 April 2013, NCCOS co-led the Forum for Gulf of Mexico Hypoxia Research Coordination and Advancement, and represented NOAA at the U.S. Mississippi River Gulf of Mexico Watershed Nutrient (Hypoxia) Task Force Spring 2013 Public Meeting; both meetings aimed at advancing management mandates of the Hypoxia Task Force to reduce the [...]
‘Red tide’ and a loss of sea grass account for some manatee deaths, but researchers believe undiscovered factors are also at play. A record number of endangered manatees are dying in Florida’s waterways. So far this year, 582 manatees have died, more than any year on record, according to preliminary numbers from the Florida Fish [...]
For decades, those leading efforts to keep southeast Louisiana from being swallowed by the Gulf of Mexico have supported “Putting the river back into the marsh.” The thinking is that the river should be allowed to build new land, just as it had done for millennia before flooding was controlled. But what if pollutants in the [...]
NCCOS-supported University of Central Florida (UCF) graduate student, Matthew Bilskie, won the Engineering, Computer Science, Modeling and Simulation category at the 2013 University of Central Florida Graduate Research Forum in April. Matt is currently working on the NCCOS Ecological Effects of Sea level Rise project in the northern Gulf of Mexico. His award-winning poster described his large-scale, high [...]
Seabirds in the Gulf of Mexico are subject to multiple hazards, such as pollutants and natural toxins, including algae-produced brevetoxin. NCCOS scientists who have pioneered the measurement of brevetoxin in live animals from blood collection cards brought this method into operation with wildlife managers in Florida to support health assessment and rehabilitation. These cards were [...]
In order to develop better methods of treatment, a researcher from the Mote Marine Lab received harmful algal bloom Event Response Program funds to investigate the physiological effects of brevetoxin exposure on manatees. A persistent red tide bloom of algae that produces this substance is responsible for a record number of manatee deaths this spring. Mote is working with [...]
To develop an earlier prediction of the size of the Gulf of Mexico “dead zone” this summer, NOAA’s National Weather Service and National Ocean Service combined data from the National Hydrologic Assessment U.S. Spring Flood Risk Outlook with knowledge of soil saturation and typical weather patterns throughout the Mississippi watershed this year. Based on estimates of flood risk, snow pack, [...]
The mysterious red tide toxin that has killed a record number of manatees and brought countless dead fish to Southwest Florida beaches over the past few months could finally have an explanation: The algae that produce the toxin are hungry. A significant new study of the algae, Karenia Brevis (sic), suggests that the organisms release [...]