A single-celled plant known as Gambierdiscus is responsible for the most common cause of harmful algae poisoning worldwide: ciguatera. The algae’s potent neurotoxin–called ciguatoxin–is found in over 400 species of fish and is conservatively estimated to sicken more than 50,000 people every year. Two years ago, researchers from NOAA’s National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science [...]
Scientists are developing proposals for dealing with the worsening problem of harmful algae in Lake Erie. 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 [...]
Don Scavia, a researcher whose work is funded in part by the National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science, presented results from his Lake Erie hypoxia ecological forecasting project. His presentation focused on phosphorus loading, climate influence on those loads, subsequent impacts on dissolved oxygen and harmful algal blooms, and best management practices to control nutrient runoff. Despite [...]
The leading world venue for showcasing the latest research on oceans, coasts and lakes is the Association for the Sciences of Limnology and Oceanography Aquatic Sciences Meeting. The research programs sponsored by the NOAA National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science (NCCOS) offer management solutions for harmful algae, hypoxia and regional ecosystem-scale research. At the 2013 [...]
As part of a pilot initiative known as “beach hazard statements,” NOAA’s National Weather Service in Tampa Bay began to issue red tide warnings to beachgoers in an area where a bloom of algae is responsible for causing fish kills and breathing problems in people. While the announcement is new, the forecasts themselves are well [...]
As part of a formal agreement with the International Atomic Energy Agency, researchers from the National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science are providing guidance for developing strategies and recommendations for future technology transfer activities on harmful algal blooms at the International Atomic Energy Agency’s Marine Environmental Laboratory in Monaco from 4-7 February 2013. By helping to build [...]
NOAA researchers discovered how a harmful algal toxin called domoic acid targets the brain to induce seizures. Using a rat epilepsy model for the California sea lion, a species susceptible to poisoning by the toxin, they showed that it causes extensive damage to the olfactory bulb, a specialized brain region responsible for the perception of odors. [...]
A recently published finding may contribute to the development of a long-elusive affordable ciguatoxin detector, crucial for equatorial peoples worldwide at risk of contracting a severe type of seafood poisoning. While researching toxicity differences in the several species of tropical algae that cause ciguatera, researchers from the National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science and partners [...]