A University of Connecticut researcher and his team have discovered that a species of tiny aquatic organism prominent in harmful algal blooms sometimes called “red tide” is even deadlier than first thought, with potential consequences for entire marine food chains. Professor Hans Dam and his research group in the school’s Department of Marine Sciences have [...]
In a new paper, researchers funded by the National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science discovered that the New England red tide species called Alexandrium releases a variety of compounds to kill its predators and lengthen bloom duration. In this case, the substance they use for defense is not the potent neurotoxin that accumulates in shellfish [...]
Named for the color the microorganisms give seawater when stimulated by sunlight, red tides are common seasonal phenomena in coastal waters. “There are many different types of red tides depending on where you are in the world and many different types of impacts depending on the organism that cause the problems,” said Don Anderson, a [...]
Dredging channels and cleaning boat hulls or fishing gear in or near established Didemnum colonies can create fragments of these invasive organisms that survive in the water column up to four weeks, disperse long distances, and even reproduce before resettling, possibly in new areas, according to NOAA research. The article suggests that cleaning equipment on land and reducing bottom disturbance [...]
Bruce Keafer calls it a robot in a box. Roughly the size of a kitchen sink, it was lowered into the waters off Portsmouth, N.H., last week, where it will sample marine organisms to measure toxic red tide cells over the next 45 days. The device, he hopes, will be a tool for forecasting outbreaks [...]
During the week of April 26, researchers funded by the National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science deployed a sensor that detects cells of the species of algae responsible for toxic red tides in the Gulf of Maine. The device relays its data back to scientists on land to enable state agencies decide whether or not [...]
A moderate “red tide” is expected in New England this spring and summer that could force the closing of shellfish beds, according to experts. A red tide is a type of harmful algae bloom. The algae in the water don’t pose a direct threat to people, but toxins produced by the algae can accumulate in [...]
In April, scientists from the National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science-funded Prevention, Control, and Mitigation of Harmful Algal Blooms research project in the Gulf of Maine issued an outlook for moderate regional algal blooms in 2012. The species is a microscopic alga, Alexandrium fundyense, which blooms in New England waters every year. This alga can [...]