Vibrio vulnificus is a water-borne pathogen responsible for 95% of food-borne illness deaths from seafood consumption. Vibrio parahaemolyticus is another water-borne human pathogen that causes gastrointestinal infections. A multiple antibiotic resistance assay was developed to test resistance of these species to ten antibiotics. Isolates from around the Southeastern United States were examined, including clinical (blood, wound) and environmental (oyster, water, sediment).

Results showed blood and water had the most diverse resistance profiles for sample matrixes tested. There were low amounts of resistance in Vibrio spp. in both clinical and environmental isolates, and no resistance to current antibiotics used to treat V. vulnificus infections. Further research is necessary on antibiotic resistance in Vibrio spp. to determine overall public health risk, however, current risks of becoming infected by a strain resistant to current therapies appears to be low.  For more information, contact Marie.DeLorenzo@noaa.gov.

The Forum, convened by NOAA (NCCOS, National Data Buoy Center, Gulf Regional Collaboration Team, NCDDC) and the Northern Gulf Institute, and held at Stennis Space Center, MS, encompassed three separate meetings with intersecting objectives: 1) the 4th Annual Hypoxia Research Coordination Workshop; 2) Gulf Hypoxia Glider Application Meeting, and 3) Gulf Hypoxia Modeling Technical Review Meeting. Nearly 100 hypoxia researchers and managers from NOAA, academia, state, and other federal partners updated the science behind the Gulf of Mexico dead zone and laid the groundwork for two white papers to advance hypoxia monitoring and forecast modeling: the “Implementation Plan for Glider Application to Hypoxia Monitoring and Modeling,” and “Modeling Approaches for Scenario Forecasts of Gulf Hypoxia.”

At the same time, NOAA fulfilled its obligations as an official member of the Hypoxia Task Force with NCCOS’s Dr. Rob Magnien representing NOAA on behalf of Acting Administrator Kathryn Sullivan at the spring 2013 Public Meeting, Louisville, KY.  NCCOS also serves as chair of the Task Force’s Coordinating Committee. The Hypoxia Task Force holds periodic public meetings throughout the Mississippi River Basin to inform the public of the progress toward reducing Gulf hypoxia. The ultimate goal of NOAA’s hypoxia research, monitoring and modeling is to develop operational forecasts useful for implementing sound nutrient reduction strategies of the Hypoxia Task Force to mitigate Gulf hypoxia.

For more information, contact Alan.Lewitus@noaa.gov.

Pat Rose is an aquatic biologist and the executive director of the Save the Manatee Club, an organization devoted to preserving the animal. In his interview with TakePart, Rose reports the estimated minimum population of these gentle beasts is only 3,100 adults. That means their population has decreased by more than 10 percent in just four months.

Read more of this article by Douglas Main in TakePart.com.

Two recently released reports gives that question new relevance.

1. A nine-year project in New England showed that fertilizer-based pollutants carried in the Mississippi River led to the collapse of salt marshes dominated by the plant species that is a signature to much of Louisiana’s southeast coast.

2. A review of research on Louisiana’s freshwater diversions by a panel of experts from outside the state concluded they could find no solid evidence the projects would improve adjacent wetlands over the long term. The study suggested that the state’s Coastal Master Plan, built around large sediment diversions, should use a science-based approach, with ongoing monitoring and adjustments in diversion strategies as needed. For more information, contact Alan.Lewitus@noaa.gov.

The reports provide new information for those who support other methods of coastal restoration, and scientists recommending more research before river water is released into the wetlands.

Related content on this topic available on the NCCOS website, The Lens and FOX8 WVUE.

The study led by the National Science Foundation noted farming practices such as tillage and fertilizer, more intense weather and increased runoff events have injected more phosphorus into Lake Erie all as potential causes. Additionally, after the bloom began to form, an extended period of weak circulation and warm weather further promoted its growth. The study authors predict that all of these factors are likely to continue to occur in the future, increasing the chances of these toxic blooms in the region.

For more information, contact Elizabeth.Turner@noaa.gov.

Nearly 600 visitors came to learn about the Laboratory and its mission to bring together the unique combination of science, response, and management capabilities to improve and protect the ecological health of the Chesapeake Bay and provide science for ecosystem management relevant to ecosystems worldwide.

Visitor activities included interactions with scientists and rare Chesapeake Bay fish species, as well as hands-on experience building remote control underwater vessels, seining, touching and seeing bay critters up close, making T-shirt prints of local marine species, and learning about the health of the Chesapeake Bay. For more information contact: Gretchen.Messick@noaa.gov.

They also discussed the expansion of local scale aquaculture production and nutrient removal by the use of the high resolution System Wide Eutrophication Model (SWEM) and EcoWin2000 model. This topic is of great interest given the recent legislation designed to promote expansion of aquaculture activities to support greater seafood product and the nutrient credit trading program that is under development in the Chesapeake region.

For more information contact: suzanne.bricker@noaa.gov

The primary purpose of LEPMAG is for fishery managers and stakeholders to collaborate updating the harvest policies for walleye and yellow perch. This group consists of stakeholders from all jurisdictions surrounding Lake Erie, Lake Erie managers, and agency staff; they will be developing a new management plan for yellow perch.

EcoFore research has demonstrated the need to include environmental variability into LEPMAG model development, especially the impacts of deep water hypoxia and sediment plumes from the Maumee River. Another factor to consider is climate change and related effects on watershed and lake processes. EcoFore research will factor heavily into future LEPMAG discussions and potential management models.

For more information, contact Elizabeth.Turner@noaa.gov

Upper Mississippi and Ohio River watersheds supply most of the nutrients into the Gulf, so examining spring flood risk and associated discharges from these rivers, as well as for the entire Mississippi River, can help predict the size of the summer dead zone.

NOAA plans to develop a 90-day quantitative forecast for the size of the summer dead zone in 2014 using predicted river discharge rates combined with estimated nutrient concentrations; updates will be periodic until the release of the official Gulf of Mexico hypoxic zone forecast in early June.  Also in 2014, the Ocean Service and the Weather Service will take the same approach to hypoxia forecasts in the Chesapeake Bay and other regions around the country. Hypoxia is the condition where oxygen concentrations in the water are too low to support life. Creatures that can flee avoid these areas, but those that can’t suffocate and die.

This effort represents a continuing and growing collaboration between the two parts of the agency to forecast ecological phenomena and hypoxia. It is also an action item in the NOAA Ecological Forecasting Roadmap initiative.

Learn more about the outlook for spring weather and hydrology in the NOAA Press Release.

NOAA’s Visualization Laboratory created a great explanation of the dead zone:

via Toxic turtles: Long-lasting chemicals could be harming sea turtles. — Environmental Health News.

A significant new study of the algae, Karenia Brevis (sic), suggests that the organisms release more toxin when they do not have enough nutrients to keep growing.

The toxin is a defense mechanism against zooplankton. Opportunistic plankton feed when the plant is not getting enough nitrogen and phosphorous — the same ingredients in many fertilizers — say researchers with North Carolina State University and the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration.

via Algae’s hunger ramps up red tide toxins | HeraldTribune.com.

Note: This article is about our research paper on algal bloom toxin defenses published in PLOS ONE last week.

Workshop participants learn how to perform assays to detect Enterococcus, a primary indicator of water contaminated by human waste.

The North Carolina Biotechnology Center funded NOAA and academic researchers to develop a training facility for public health officials and resource managers in advanced molecular methods to detect pathogens and harmful algae species more quickly and effectively.

Sixteen participants from public health departments and academic institutions gathered to complete training to detect Enterococcus

The first workshop, held March 11 – 15, 2013,  covered quantitative polymerase chain reaction techniques to detect Enterococcus, the primary bacterial indicator of human fecal contamination of recreational waters. Similar methods for detecting harmful algal blooms were taught at workshops in Alaska and Malaysia last year.

NOAA’s Wayne Litaker lecturing on assays that detect waterborne pathogens and harmful algae species.

These workshops grew out of requests from numerous user groups who were interested to learn how to implement new quantitative molecular detection methods in their laboratories and a desire to train individuals developing biotechnology businesses in eastern North Carolina.

Sixteen participants from public health departments and academic institutions in Alabama, California, Florida, New York, North Carolina, Maryland, Ohio, Texas, Vermont and Virginia gathered in Morehead City, NC to become the first class to complete training.

Experts from NOAA’s National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science and University of North Carolina (UNC) led the workshops at the new Molecular Training Facility at the UNC Institute of Marine Sciences.

The next workshop is scheduled for November 2013.

Lake Erie is sick. A thick and growing coat of toxic algae appears each summer, so vast that in 2011 it covered a sixth of its waters, contributing to an expanding dead zone on its bottom, reducing fish populations, fouling beaches and crippling a tourism industry that generates more than $10 billion in revenue annually.

The spring rains reliably predict how serious the summer algae bloom will be: the more frequent and heavy the downpours, the worse the outbreak. And this year the National Weather Service says there is a higher probability than elsewhere of above-normal spring rains along the lake’s west end, where the algae first appear. The private forecaster Accuweather predicts a wetter than usual March and April throughout the region.

via Algae Blooms Threaten Lake Erie – NYTimes.com.

Note: Researchers from the National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science contributed imagery and interpretation to an infographic related to this this article. Among other projects dedicated to improving the health of Lake Erie, we provide seasonal and near-real-time algae forecasts to officials in communities around the lake, especially Ohio, to help them plan long-term responses to the blooms and also save money on municipal water treatment.

The Great Lakes International Joint Commission relies on NCCOS-funded research to develop strategies to help the United States and Canada manage the growing HAB and hypoxia problem in Lake Erie.

In the report, “Mississippi River Freshwater Diversions in Southern Louisiana: Effects on Wetland Vegetation, Soils, and Elevation,” the panel states that existing freshwater diversions have demonstrated both positive and negative impacts on the wetlands. Sediment delivery by existing projects is insufficient to tackle the problem of coastal land loss facing Louisiana.

The panel convened to examine the specific effects of freshwater and nutrients delivered by existing projects on the soils and vegetation of coastal marshes. The panel acknowledged that the emphasis on sediment diversions in Louisiana’s 2012 Comprehensive Master Plan for a Sustainable Coast could well be a more viable restoration approach than freshwater diversions on their own. They supported the master plan’s focus on flexible management to ensure a scientific framework for moving forward.

The report was produced by a technical panel of national expert academic and government scientists with broad backgrounds in wetland science. They based their assessment on proceedings from the “Workshop on Response of Louisiana Marsh Soils and Vegetation to Diversions,” held in Lafayette, Louisiana in 2011 and on an extensive literature review.

The workshop and panel were convened by the National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science, National Marine Fisheries Service Southeast Regional Office, and the Louisiana Coastal Area program established by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the State of Louisiana.

The panel was organized by the Louisiana Coastal Area program and NOAA.

Experts from the U.S. and Canada met Monday and Tuesday in Windsor, Ontario, to discuss findings from research into blue-green algae blooms on the lake. They are toxic and have caused animal deaths.

The scientists are examining sources of phosphorus, the leading culprit behind the algae blooms. They’re also studying how climate change may contribute to the outbreak by causing increasingly severe storms, which promote runoff of nutrients from farms and cities.

via Scientists seeks solutions to Lake Erie algae – WSJ.com.

Note: One of the presenters at this gathering is a researcher funded by the National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science. His findings should help influence new nutrient load targets (especially for phosphorus), establish the need to determine natural and man-made phosphorus sources and look into how much farm fertilizer is stored in watershed soils. You can read more about his role in this news article.