Karenia Brevis Research Paper

Florida red tide blooms were linked to many emergency room check-ins regarding respiratory and intestinal ailments (Pierce and Henry, 2008). Even though some of these illnesses were attributed to toxic seafood consumption, many of the hospitalizations are a result of breathing in the aerosol from these toxic blooms, causing asthma attack and bronchitis. The blooms toxic aerosol floats to the seas surface in bubbles, which are blown on shore. The authors of the article states, “Future illnesses would range between $2 and $24 million,” if the futures yearly blooms continue (Hoagland et al, 2014). Due to the problems that the critical blooms create, there needs to be a remedy to reduce the high toxic bloom levels to insignificant

Economically speaking, these algal blooms are responsible for millions of dollars in losses annually. Local economies prosper thanks to the millions of recreation tourists who benefit from this vacation destination, but in 2011 alone, Lake Erie algal blooms cost Ohio’s recreation fishing industry and Maumee Bay State Park an estimated combined total loss of 3.7 million dollars US (McLean et al., 2014). Not to mention, treating the toxic water to make it potable again has costly demands, as well (Yeoman, 2011).

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.

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

Algae blooms have been an issue in the Chesapeake Bay, especially in the Baltimore Inner Harbor. Algae is a natural and critical part of the ecosystem, however in large doses it is harmful to the plants and organisms within the ecosystem. Algae blooms can block out sunlight and kill other plants in the water. Algae depends on various factors such as water, nutrients and carbon dioxide to grow. Eutrophication of the Inner Harbor has lead to algae blooms that have caused large fish kills in the past. When there is an over abundance of certain chemical nutrients eutrophication can occur. Runoff from land and farms is the main cause of excess nutrients into the water. The most common nutrients that are related to algae outbreaks are nitrate nitrogen and phosphate. In addition, a lack of dissolved oxygen can also be an indicator for the process of eutrophication and risk of an algae outbreak. A particular type of algae commonly found in Maryland is known as Prorocentrum minimum. Prorocentrum tends to cause “mahogany tides” causing water to be brown and have an odor. There has been a campaign launched by the Healthy Harbor

“I could have been in college, I would have been working,” Briana said. “Nova slows me down. Sometimes I do wish I would have had an abortion, but I love Nova, I do not regret her. It’s just hard sometimes” (Maier). Briana DeJesus, a Puerto Rican teenager, was unfortunate to become pregnant at a young age, which had put a set back to all her future plans. DeJesus is a child of a single mother and has grown up in poverty. She believed that she had the love and support from her child’s biological father resulting in her keeping her child rather than terminating. As revealed, she often regrets her decision and wonders how her life would have been if she terminated her pregnancy, but she would not turn back the clock and had an abortion, as she loves her child.

Red tide is the common name for a large concentration of certain species of dinoflagellates. This event accumulates harmful algal blooms quickly, resulting in discoloration near the surface water. Dense enough algal blooms cause harmful toxins strong enough to affect people and the oceans ecosystem as a whole. Karenia brevis is the most troublesome species of dinoflagellate in the Gulf of Mexico. This species reproduces by asexual cell division, therefore, given the right conditions, the population can rapidly increase in size. K. brevis needs large amounts of the correct nutrients to reproduce at toxic speed. The nutrients responsible for supporting Florida's red tide are nitrogen and phosphorus.

On April 15, 1975, Karen Ann Quinlan, unexpectedly fell to the ground, unconscious, and then slipped into a coma. The doctors could do nothing about her unhealthy state and after a long year Karen’s family decide that they should remove her feeding tubes, a breathing mechanical device, and medical help. The doctors refused to do this because they would get arrested without court permission thus sending the family to court. The family fought over it at court and finally won. Surprisingly, Karen did not die but 10 years later she passed away naturally. The fact that she survived led to many acts of controversy. Was it a good idea to let Karen ann go or should they have kept her on the machines to see what would happen? Through evidence and research,

Oxygen depletion will create stress which can take years to recover. These HABs can also suppress mammalian immune functions which results in mass mortalities of dolphins and manatees. This can be seen by a significant reduction in manatee lymphocytes in cell culture that are exposed to these toxins. With all of this evidence of the negative impacts of these toxins, it shows the need to recognize these biotoxins as significant stressors within south-west Florida coastal ecosystems.

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

The United States of America’s west coast is home to a diverse population of aquatic creatures. Amongst those sea-dwellers is a kind of mammal called a California sea lion. The website Scientific American has published an article on how the amount of naturally occurring algae in the California sea lions’ habitats has reached an all-time record high in 2015. Though one may not see algae as a necessarily bad thing, when grown in excess amounts, the toxins in algae can accumulate and cause harm to the ecosystem. Some may ask, how does this affect west coast sea lions?

live and feed in those coral reefs until they are big enough to survive the wide vast of the deep ocean. Warming temperatures are also a death sentence to many species of fish. When I was visiting Port Saint Joe, FL and it’s surrounding area, I noticed that at some places the tide was a tinted yellow, orange and red. It was Red Tide, also known as harmful algal bloom. Simple plants the live in the sea and freshwater grow out of control. These algal blooms produce toxic and harmful effects on people, fish, shellfish, marine mammals and birds. Algal bloom has high concentrations of nutrients from agricultural and urban run off. Red Tide does expand the decomposition of which kills animals by depleting the oxygen levels needed, limits the aquatic plant growth. This was occurring both at the shoreline of Powell Lake in Laguna Beach, FL and the East Bay in Panama City, FL. Off the tip of St Joseph Peninsula State Park, the government agencies were picking up hundreds of dead fish this past month alone. Red Tide could be found in a stretch of miles west of the peninsula to Mexico Beach and east of the peninsula to Cape San Blas.

PbTx-1 and PbTx-2 are the parent algal toxins from which others are derived. PbTx-2 (Figure1) is the most abundant brevetoxin produced by K. brevis, and PbTx-1 (Figure2) is the most potent. Currently, there are more than 10 brevetoxins have been identified in Karenia brevis blooms, including products of reduction, oxidation, and hydrolysis. These molecules are made up of a single carbon chain locked into a ladder-like structure. Cyclic ethers of sizes ranging from five- to nine-membered rings all fuse in a trans/syn/trans style is remarkable regularity feature. Both A and B type toxins possess a lactone functionality in the A-ring, have a strictly rigid region in the terminal four rings, possess a side chain allowing modest modification at

Red tide or Karenia brevis, is a single celled eukaryotic organism that appears in a bloom off the west coast of Florida. These dinoflagellates produce a toxin known as brevetoxins, which at high concentrations can cause severe harm to marine and human life. Human activity is thought to be bringing about a higher frequency and concentration of the algae blooms by nutrient run off and from ships traveling through the tide. The algae is very fragile so when it is disturbed by crashing waves or by the hull of boats is causes the brevetoxins to become an aerosol. This is when it presents a problem to humans because the brevetoxins can cause respiratory infections. (Kirpatrick et al 2004; Fleming et al 2005).

There are many challenges facing scientists in their efforts to prevent and treat microcystin outbreaks, but researchers have developed ways to limit the risks involved with microcystins, like chemical and biological treatments for freshwater systems that contain Microcystis bacteria. Microcystis aeruginosa is still not well understood, and further research is needed to pinpoint the most safe and economical way to prevent these dangerous blooms before they occur. Understanding these organisms will continue to become more vital as global temperatures continue to rise and instances of eutrophication become more common, as these conditions will amplify the amount of toxin producing cyanobacteria in freshwater systems around the world. As fresh, clean, drinking water becomes more scarce, it will become increasingly important to develop treatments for those who ingest microcystins, and explore new ways to safely remove both Microcystis aeruginosa and microcystins from water